the rebal howl by cheetahstar2
by Wolf Guardian Of Darkness
Summary: Frah is the leader of a pack who has been captured by Faldorn, a grisly tyrant who do anything for power. Too bad Frah is a kind-hearted and noble wolf who will stop at nothing to ensure the safety of his pack. Join him as he, his family, and a couple new friends lead the rebellion of a lifetime against a leader gone mad with obsession. Will you answer...The Rebel's Howl?
1. Chapter 1

All was quiet in the great forest to the wandering deer. He stumbled along, ignoring the dull throbbing pain in his crippled leg. He had been separated from his herd in a rockslide, where a boulder had landed on the leg. But summer was coming, and he was unworried as to the likes of predators that could pick him out by the scent of blood and infection.

The delicate shoots of grass that had shot up during spring after winter thaw were just beginning to mature. He bent his neck to nibble at the tender shoots, but straightened as he heard a slight disturbance in the brush around him. He pricked his ears and raised his muzzle to the air, but the wolves had burst out of the trees before he could even scent their presence. There were three males and one female; the largest of the males took the lead as the buck took flight, and leapt for it's shoulder, while the smallest male let out a burst of speed and fastened his jaws around the deer's tender muzzle, his bushy brown tail just skimming the forest floor.

The distraught buck swung his neck from side to side, desperate for air and fighting to loosen the young wolf's death grip on his snout. The second largest male and the female had circled around him now, and they fastened their steel jaws into the buck's side, bringing him to a slow halt. His legs were weary from running and from the immense weight of the four wolves that were attached to him. His injured leg shook as sharp throbs pulsed through it, and he couldn't breath; his muzzle was dripping foam and blood. He dropped to his side as the pain began to fade away, not even feeling the razor teeth beginning to rip his flesh away from bone. He sighed deeply and suddenly he was nothing.

"Great catch, Rowan!" said the largest of the four wolves as he shouldered the smallest. "You can eat first." The young wolf pranced on his too-large paws; he was not yet matured to his full size.

"Thank you father!" he replied happily, trotting forward to tear into the dead deer's haunch. The largest wolf, Frah, as he was called, turned to his mate, Akita. He was lean and tall, with a brown coat, and a white spot covering one eye. He had a star on his chest and a white hind leg. He was clearly an alpha.

"Our son is a great hunter," Akita said to him, her blue eyes gleaming as she settled down to watch the young one eat.

"Your son is an alpha," said Mekko, the wolf who hadn't yet spoken. He was a large gray wolf with a bushy red tail. He watched Rowan proudly, for he was Akita's brother, making the young wolf his nephew.

"Thank you," said Akita warmly, standing to shake the dust off of her gray coat. Rowan had finished eating, and she and Frah moved forward to take their share of the kill. Mekko waited calmly, and then he joined the feast at Frah's side.

After the four wolves had eaten their fill, the carried the rest of the meat back to their camp. The two wolves who had remained at camp came forward to meet them, wagging their tails and bumping their noses against the hunter's throats, excited that such a large kill had been brought back.

"Thank Rowan for the food," said Frah indulgently. "He was the one who killed the deer." Rowan's sister, Trekka, wagged her bushy gray tail.

"Good catch!" she praised as her brother touched his nose to hers. Trekka was a small wolf, a pretty storm-colored gray. She had inherited her mother's blue eyes. Rowan resembled his father more than her; he was a sandy brown, with strange lighter colored dappled legs, and a white star on his chest.

The hunters sat back to let the remaining two wolves eat. There was Trekka, and a loner who had joined the pack four years back, Shino, an old black wolf with a white belly.

When they had all eaten until they were full, they buried the leftover meat and settled down to nap. They had been resting quietly for about a half hour when suddenly Trekka sat up, her ears pricked and her nose twitching.

"What is it?" Frah asked anxiously. He feared it would be a bear, hungry and grumpy from it's long hibernation. "Is it a bear?" Trekka was silent for some time.

"No," she said finally, and the pack breathed a sigh of relief. She blinked her eyes and gazed towards her father. "It's another pack, traveling through our territory." Frah felt Mekko's fur bristle next to him.

"Calm down, I'm sure they mean us no harm." He reassured his beta. "Let's go and see what they mean." Naturally, the whole pack followed the alpha and beta out into the woods, curious for a glance at the strange wolves. Trekka walked beside Frah, for she had the most sensitive nose in the pack and could easily scent the new wolves out.

"They're just beyond those trees," Trekka said, stopping and twitching her tail nervously. Frah ran his tail along her back in thanks as he led the pack forward through the trees. He could scent the strange wolves now for himself, though he didn't yet see them.

"Hello?" he called. "You are here on our territory, but we mean you no harm. Please come out so we can talk to each other!" There was a silence after his words, and then a rustling in the trees as a small pack of wolves exposed themselves to Frah. The alpha, a big white wolf, stood in front of his pack and stared at Frah challengingly. He obviously wanted to show that his pack was strong, even if they had been traveling for days.

"Peace," said Frah. "My name is Frah, and I'm the alpha of this pack. What is your name and why have you come here?" "My name is Karr," said the white wolf. "My pack is just passing through. We are searching for a new territory far from this place, and we've been traveling for many days." Frah glanced back at his pack, who all looked sleek and well-fed, and then to Karr's pack, who were thin and tired.

"Why don't you come back to our camp so we can talk more," he offered. "We have half a deer left over that we have no need for." Karr nodded to his pack, and the five or so wolves behind him followed Frah and his pack back to the camp. The hungry wolves fell on the meat instantly, all hierarchy forgotten as they tore at the haunch, their hungry bellies full at last.

When they had eaten, they settled down to mingle with Frah's pack. It was all very formal, as neither pack wished to accidentally slip a weakness or a secret to the other. Frah noticed that Rowan had made a good friend with a wolf of the other pack, a pretty black female who seemed to be the youngest. He could see them talking much less formally then the rest of the mingling wolves in the clearing. Frah hoped his young son would not let slip anything he shouldn't to the she-wolf.

After much polite discussion of the movement of deer through the countryside, the two packs slept quietly through the night on either side of the clearing.

The next morning, Frah's pack escorted Karr's to the far side of their territory, where they said their goodbyes.

"Thank you for the food and a place to sleep," said Karr, bowing his head to Frah. "You've been very kind to us." Frah dipped his head politely.

"It was no problem," he replied. "We wolves are always glad to lend a hand to a new friend." As Karr turned to lead his pack away, he stopped to turn back once more.

"It would be best for your pack to leave the country as well, for a great change is coming soon." he said solemnly, a haunted look coming to his face now.

"What do you mean?" questioned Frah, who was thoroughly confused by these words.

"It's dangerous to speak of it here, when their could be spies around. Besides, you'll find out, I believe, if you don't leave soon," replied Karr, and he raced after his pack.

"Good luck, and I hope to meet again!" called Frah as they went. Then, in a lower voice he added, "What a strange pack. I wonder what their leader was talking about?" Indeed, Karr's words had brought a chill down his spine for an unknown reason. What faceless terror had Karr seen that would lead him to drive his pack so far from their territory?

"They were scared," said a small voice behind him. Frah pricked his ears and turned around. Trekka wore a curious expression on her face as she stared after the running wolves.

"How do you know?" asked Akita. "Could you smell the fear on them?"

"No-I could feel it…see it in their eyes," Trekka explained. "Whatever it was they were afraid of they did a good job hiding, but for some reason I could sense it."

"She's right," said Rowan. "They were afraid. And I think I know why."

"What?" asked Frah, rounding on his son. "You know something that you haven't told us?"

"I couldn't have told you while they were still here," retorted Rowan, raising his tail in defiance. "Besides, Sascha, the black female, I don't think she was supposed to tell me."

"Well it's obvious that we'll need to know now, secret as it is or not," snapped Mekko. "Now do tell."

"I can't," replied Rowan nervously, slinking low to the ground under the beta's piercing stare. "At least-not here. As Karr said, there could be spies all around."

When the whole pack was nestled inside of the large den, Rowan began his story.

"Sascha told me that a couple of months ago, a strange pack of wolves entered the country. It was the largest pack anyone had ever seen, and it was led by a huge gray wolf called Faldorn," began Rowan. "He started forcing the local packs to join his, killing anyone who struggled or refused. He doesn't have a reason that we know of, he's just power-hungry and evil. Anyway, he's building up a huge pack, and one day, about three weeks ago, a scouting party of twenty wolves entered Karr's territory and demanded that they join Faldorn's pack. Twenty wolves! Can you imagine? And that was just a scouting party! They attacked them and told them that they would come back in a week or so to check if they were still there. After the scouts left, that's when Sascha said they fled. But Karr reckons the scouts are after them still."

"Then they've led them to us!" snarled Frah, jumping to his feet as his heart threatened to burst from his chest.

"Maybe," Rowan went on solemnly. "That's why Karr wouldn't tell us anything when they left. He thinks that if the scouts had heard him warn us, they would kill us to make sure we don't warn somebody else."

"So what should we do?" asked Akita. Frah settled down again, and crossed his front paws as he pondered Rowan's words.

"We have no reason to panic yet," he reassured his pack, but also himself. He too, was trembling like he was plunged into the heart of winter. "We'll all stay close to camp and send two scouts out every day to follow the borders. You must not-" he paused. "Use scent markers. If strange wolves do come here, we want them to think that nobody lives here."

"What happens if they do come here?" asked Shino timidly. Frah bared his fangs.

"Then we'll have to leave," he replied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Frah stretched out his sore limbs before lying down beside his mate. It had been three days since Karr's pack had left. Everything seemed to be calm in the forest, and Frah had begun to let the patrol go lazy once again. Today Mekko and Trekka were scouting to the west, in the direction Karr had gone.

The big brown wolf lay his head on Akita's shoulder, watching her black-tipped ears swivel back and forth as she listened to the noises in the forest around the clearing. Suddenly, her ears tipped forward and she sat up, forcing Frah to sit as well. He heard the paw steps of approaching wolves racing through the trees, and then Trekka and Mekko burst into the clearing. Instantly, Frah knew something was wrong. Mekko was panting heavily, and his eyes were rolling blindly in their sockets with terror. Trekka, though calm and collected she usually was, was pacing nervously, her muzzle twitching in anxiety. Both of them seemed to be struggling to talk, but they couldn't seem to remember how.

"What is it?" prompted Frah, who felt his neck fur bristle at the sight of them. "What have you seen?" Trekka's tail slid between her legs, and then she wailed,

"Karr's pack! They're still in the forest! They've been murdered!"

"What?" barked Frah, standing suddenly and jumping forward to support his daughter, who's legs had given away.

"So much blood…" she gasped, before slumping against her father's shoulder.

"What's going on?" asked Rowan, who was returning from a hunt with a rabbit clamped in his jaws.

"Karr's pack is dead," Frah told him.

"What?" Rowan wailed, his eyes bulging. "No!" He abandoned his kill and streaked through the trees. Frah and Mekko immediately raced after him. The brown alpha's mind was spinning out of control; Faldorn's scouts must have caught up with Karr at last, and that would mean they were now on his territory.

"Oh god," thought Frah, closing his eyes momentarily as he ran. "Please don't let them find my pack."

As they passed the marker that signified the edge of Frah's territory, the stench of wolf blood that hung in the air grew dense like a mist, and the alpha felt bile rise in his throat. They had passed into a clearing and were now surrounded by the bodies of wolves, littered through the grass and broken. All still had defiant snarls left on their faces, their eyes, though now glazed and milky with death, still gleaming with a fighting spirit. Blood covered their once neat coats; all of their throats had been ripped out. As Frah watched, a fly crawled across Karr's mate's once beautiful face and settled on her staring green eye. Frah turned away in disgust.

Rowan had thrown himself at each of the dead wolves in turn, inspecting them closely, sniffing their matted pelts. He turned to Frah, a glimmer of hope in his golden eyes, and said,

"Sascha isn't here!" Frah remembered the small black female that Rowan had taken a liking to, and felt happy for his son.

"Let's try to see if she's still around here," said Frah hopefully, glad to get away from this death ground.

The three wolves circled the territory once more, calling out to stray wolves, but no answer came. They had just returned to the murder scene when suddenly, they heard a rustling in the bushes.

"Sascha?" called Rowan hopefully, and he bounded forward to find the source of the noise. At that moment, a huge black wolf leapt from the bushes and pinned Rowan down with a heavy snarl. Rowan squealed as the wind was knocked out of him, but struggle as he did, his attacker would not let him up.

Frah snarled in rage and leapt forward to fight the black wolf off his son, but another wolf blocked his path and knocked him aside.

"Get out of our territory!" snarled Mekko, but four more huge wolves had intercepted the pack mates, making it impossible for them to reach one another.

"Your struggles will only make it harder for you," said the tallest wolf, the gray one who had knocked over Frah. "It's six against three, and you are weak."

"What do you want with my pack?" growled Frah, who's fur was bristling along his spine. Never had he felt so angry in his life.

"We come with a message from Faldorn's pack up north," spoke the black wolf who had attacked Rowan. "Your pack is to join with his to form a greater pack with all the wolves in the country. We will have no weakness!"

"And be forced into submission by some ugly dumbass who would gladly kill a family for power? I think not!" seethed Frah, and he spat at the black wolf's feet. The black wolf lunged forward, snarling, his mouth open to clamp angrily around Frah's neck, but two of the others held him back.

"Calm down Butch," one whispered in his ear. "We aren't supposed to kill unless it's necessary." The black wolf's eyes flickered momentarily toward the speaker, but settled back on Frah. The two males glared challengingly at each other, Frah lifting his chin defiantly to show that he hadn't been beaten. Butch's eyes narrowed.

"You haven't seen the last of me," he hissed. "Mark my words."

"Consider them marked," answered Frah, lifting his muzzle in challenge. The black wolf growled and turned to race away with the rest of the scouting group, but called over his shoulder,

"We'll be back in four days time to collect you. And don't even think about running away! We'll hunt you down just like we hunted down your sorry little friends!" And they disappeared into the trees.

Rowan stumbled to his feet, a look of defeat on his handsome face. He had a small wound on his shoulder from where Butch had held him down, and it was trickling blood across his sandy fur. He stared over at Frah.

"What do we do now father?" he asked in a hollow voice. Frah felt his throat close; for once he didn't have an answer for his young son. He turned to Mekko, who looked blank and offered no suggestions.

"I don't know," Frah admitted, his tail hanging limp at his feet. Rowan limped past him, his ears drooping low on his head.

"We have to warn the pack," he explained as he walked slowly into the forest. Frah trotted after him, and soon the three wolves were racing through the trees. Frah's heart was full of dread as he thought about what he had to tell his pack. They could not leave, as they planned on doing before, because they now knew that they would be hunted down and slaughtered like deer. What could they do now besides go to Faldorn's pack?

The exhausted wolves entered the clearing and halted, panting. Akita ran forward to smell Rowan's wound, and then began to lick it clean. The sandy colored-wolf winced as his mother's rough tongue rasped over the open bite.

"What happened?" asked Trekka, who had come out of the den with her mother.

"We were attacked," breathed Mekko as he sat down to catch his breath. "Faldorn's scouts found us at last." Shino, who usually kept to himself, perked his ears from where he was dozing next to the den, and sat up.

"No!" howled Akita. "It can't be true!"

"It is," confirmed Frah, lowering his head. "They're coming in five days to make sure that we're going."

"What are we going to do?" asked Trekka, her blue eyes wide with fear. "We can't go with them."

"Yes I know, Trekka, but what else can we do?" asked Frah. "There are to many of them to fight off, we'd be slaughtered like rabbits!" The pack fell silent. There seemed to be no escaping the fact that their pack would have to go. It would be the end of Frah's leadership, as Faldorn would force him into submission, and then what? Frah could not bear to think.

"I think I may have an idea," said Rowan suddenly, pricking his ears up.

"What? What is it?" Mekko and Akita asked together, both of their tail's becoming stiff. Frah sat up straighter and stared at his son. What could he have possibly thought of that could save his pack from unavoidable destruction?

"Well," began the young brown wolf anxiously, his head lowering sheepishly under the other's stares. "When you said we didn't have a large enough pack to fight them off, that's when I had my idea. Why couldn't we build a pack bigger than Faldorn's? We could fight them off easily then." Frah cocked his head to the side, thinking hard. While his son's plan was a good one, he could still spot some fatal flaws.

"All the other packs have already joined with Faldorn," he spoke up. "And those who haven't are too far away to have anything to fear. Why would they let their own wolves fight for a cause that means no danger to them?"

Rowan fell silent, staring down at his paws in frustration. Suddenly, Trekka spoke up.

"We'll gather them from inside the pack!" she breathed. Rowan jumped to his feet.

"Trekka, you're a genius!" he yelped, his tongue lolling out of his open mouth.

"I still don't understand," said Akita, who looked utterly confused.

"Nor do I," said Frah. He stared at his son and daughter expectantly. Rowan began to plan.

"We'll go willingly to Faldorn's pack-just wait!" he snapped at Mekko, who had opened his mouth to protest. "While we're there, we'll start talking to other wolves about leaving. After some time, we'll gather a real fighting force! We'll escape during the night, and any wolf that follows will have to deal with our new super pack!" Frah considered the plan; he couldn't see any problems but one.

"What will happen if word gets out before we leave?" he asked.

"Then we'll have to fight them there and hope the others come to our aid," said Trekka solemnly. Frah gazed upwards at the darkening sky through the trees. Although it was a rough sketch of a plan, he had to admit it could work. The alpha raised his proud head, gazing at everyone in turn.

"Alright," he agreed, locking eyes with his son. "We'll start out in two-days time."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3/ Disclaimer; all content belongs to the original author.

The sun was low in the sky when the wolves started off on their journey. They jogged steadily through the sparkling mist and dewy grass that grew sparsely throughout their territory. Frah led his little pack with his head high, as if he were marching into battle, but his belly was churning with anxiety, and he wished he could turn around and run back to the trees, his tail tucked neatly between his legs. They were following the strong scent that Faldorn's scouts had left behind, trusting that they would soon meet up with the scouts sent to collect them. Trekka had calculated that the distance between the two packs was about a two or three days journey, and so they should meet the scouts the next day, at about noon. Frah hoped that a fight would not break out.

The pack kept up the same pace, not even stopping to rest, for the remainder of the day. They carried on well into the night, until Mekko broke the silence.

"Frah, please let us rest now!" he cried. "We've been going at it all day, and the old one is in a bad way!" Frah glanced back at the rest of his pack, who all came to a halt, panting. Shino had fallen behind, and was limping terribly. Frah and Rowan circled back to see what was wrong. Before they could reach him, his legs folded under him and he fell to his side, letting out a huff of breath as he lay his head on the ground.

"Shino!" barked Rowan, lower his neck to prod the old wolf's fur. "Get up old man, we have to go!"

"Not as strong...as I used to be," the black and white wolf mused weakly, his eyes half-lidded. Frah licked his muzzle and whined. He stood and gazed over to where his pack was sillohuetted against the moonlit landscape, staring back at him, still as the trees and bushes around them. Frah looked back to his son, who met his gaze evenly and then kneeled down next to Shino. Frah did the same, and together the two wolves lifted the elder onto their backs. They plodded forwards through the grass awkwardly, as Rowan was not yet as tall as Frah.

"Do you think he'll last, Father?" Rowan asked, turning his head to watch his father's grim profile. Frah ignored the question, and the two brown wolves plodded on until they reached the rest of the pack.

"Is he alright?" asked Akita, who lay down next to Shino and pressed her fur against his side. Frah met her gaze and shrugged. The five wolves lay down next to their comrade, pressing close to give him warmth, and slept through the night. When they awoke the next morning, the old black and white wolf was cold. He had died peacefully in his sleep. The whole pack gathered around the dead wolf to howl into the heavens, a tradition that ensured the dead one's spirit would be sent of happily and peacefully.

"What a shame," sighed Mekko, turning his head to the sky as he helped dig a grave for the fallen wolf. "He was a good old man, even if he was a bit strange."

After burying Shino and paying their respects, the pack set off again. Rowan wandered off to hunt for himself in the trees as the others rested in the middle of the day. He pricked his ears to pick up the small sounds of animals in the area, and wandered through the bushes, sniffing at the grass, when he came across a flock of small gray birds huddled in a clearing.

"Ah-hah!" muttered the sandy brown wolf, licking his chops and padding forward to the edge of the clearing. He waited patiently until one of the birds raised its head before exploding into the clearing. The birds scattered, taking off into the air in fright. Rowan gave a mightly leap into the air, grabbing one of the fleeing birds in his slavering jaws. He landed on his feet and was leaning forward to drop his kill to the ground when suddenly he heard a voice.

"Oi! You there!" Rowan straightened up to look around, and caught sight of four big wolves coming towards him through the trees. Through the feathers in his mouth, Rowan growled,

"What do you want?" The leader of the wolves, a big black wolf with mottled brown dapples, grinned and sat down.

"Easy there," he said in a lazy voice. "I'm Romulus, from Faldorn's pack. Are you one of the wolves that lives back that way?" He tipped his head in the direction of the forest that Rowan's pack had come from.

"Yeah," Rowan nodded. This guy, Romulus, as he called himself, seemed nice enough. He lowered his tail, taking away the challenge he had originally imposed on the scouting party.

"Where are the rest?" asked one of the wolves behind Romulus, a bluish-gray male. Rowan motioned with his head for them to follow and padded off through the trees, hearing the footfalls of the scouts behind him. Soon they caught up with Frah, who had left just a while earlier.

"Hello," he said warily as the others approached.

"Hi," greeted Romulus cheerfully. "You must be Frah. I'm Romulus, and this is Beck, Heshin, and Rettin." As he spoke their names, he motioned to each wolf in turn; the gray wolf that had spoken earlier, a white wolf with a black eye and ears, and a dark brown wolf who seemed to be rather quiet. Frah's posture loosened after hearing the black and brown wolf's friendly tone.

"This is my son Rowan," said Frah. "my daughter Trekka, my mate Akita, and Mekko, my beta."

"So few," said Romulus staring past Frah at each of his family in turn, ending on Trekka, who met his gaze evenly until he looked back to Frah.

"Yes," replied Frah stiffly, as if he thought that Romulus was looking for a weakness. "Our elder died just last night, but we are strong." Romulus' gaze flickered once more over the pack, and Rowan noticed with interest that one of his eyes was blue; the other amber.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," he said finally, and then grinned. "Well, I think we shall be off now, we have about two days journey from here." He turned and loped off, his scouting party following close behind. Frah's pack stood stationary for a moment, and then began to jog slowly after the scouts. Trekka fell in step beside Rowan, eyeing Romulus with mild distaste.

"He's rather strange, isn't he?" she said, her blue eyes flicking to Rowan. The brown male grinned.

"I sort of like him," he said. "I mean, for one of Faldorn's officers, he's very cheerful. I think we could be friends." Trekka shrugged.

"You're prolly right," she said. "I was just expecting anybody who is under Faldorn to be horrid and ugly and-oh, nevermind." Her ears twitched in embaressment and she fell silent. Rowan laughed and continued running.

They stopped in the evening to rest, and Rowan had a chance to get to know Romulus and the rest of the scouts better.

"It's considered a real honor to go on a scouting party in the big pack," Romulus was saying to the others as Rowan approached him. "'course, I'm an officer, so I get to pick who goes with me."

"So the other scouts aren't officers then?" asked Akita with interest. Romulus shook his head, but one of the scouts spoke first, the white one called Heshin.

"Nah, on the scouting parties you have an officer and the others are usually alphas and betas who Faldorn takes a liking to," he explained in a soft voice. "Usually the ones who take their packs to him quietly." Frah's ears pricked forward as the white wolf spoke.

"So you had a pack before this?" Frah asked with interest.

"No, just me and my mate Palli, but he took her away,"

"He took her away? How awful!"

"Faldorn takes the most beautiful females to be part of his harem," said Rettin, the dark brown wolf who rarely spoke. Romulus snorted as he lay down and crossed his front paws.

"Damn good shame, I think," he said. Heshin had gone very quiet, and Frah stared at him curiously. He was a big wolf, with strange teal-colored eyes. He was quiet, but he seemed strong. Frah knew he could be a powerful ally.

"Do you like living in the pack, Heshin?" he ventured conversationally.

"S'all right, I guess," Heshin answered, cocking his head to the side. "I didn't have much before, so not much was lost, you know? Faldorn does some pretty horrible stuff, but he mostly keeps out of things-"

"Big ol' ugly bloke," Romulus said to Trekka, who looked disgusted, wether at the mention of Faldorn or due to the fact that Romulus was invading her personal space, Rowan did not know. "He's got a nasty scar on his face that makes him look as if he's always snarling. Horrible temper-"

"Anyway," Heshin continued. "It's been alright since I've been friends with Romulus, but I miss Palli all the time and I wish I could see her again..."

"Do you ever want to leave?" asked Mekko.

"Sometimes..." murmured Heshin, with a sideways glance at Romulus, who glared at him.

"Now now, it's not like I'm gunna report you or something," he said, a hint of a growl in his throat, but his eyes were friendly. "To tell you the truth, being with the pack is very...boring," he glanced at Mekko and Frah. "First pick for mates, and all the pretty ones taken by the boss! Now what's the point of that?" Rowan chuckled, but secretly hoped that his sister or mother wouldn't be taken. Romulus sighed and lay his head on his paws.

"Sometimes I feel like leaving to start my own pack, but I know I'll be hunted down by the other officers and killed." he said dryly. Frah's tail began to wag.

"So you'd like to leave?" he asked. Romulus eyed him with curiosity.

"I said I would, if there was a way," he replied, gazing at Frah with suspicion. "Why, what are you getting at?" Frah glanced at Mekko, who nodded, and then leaned closer to Romulus and the other scouts, and together he and his pack told the scouts of their plan.

When they had finished, Romulus sat up and nodded his head thoughtfully. Heshin and the other scouts had already agreed to help Frah, but Romulus, most uncharacteristically, had not said anything yet. Finally, he turned to Frah and frowned.

"It'll be dangerous, yeah?" he asked.

"Well, yes," said Frah. "You'll be our spy, but-"

"Good," said Romulus, his face breaking into a grin. "I always like a bit of excitement."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They departed again the next morning, and to Frah's pack, the world could not have gotten brighter. They now had four strong allies, one of whom was an insider and therefore could act as a spy for the rebels. Romulus, for some unknown reason, was in high spirits all morning.

"Alright everyone, come now," he dictated to the others as they were waking up, his tongue lolling and his ears drooping to the sides in a pleasent way. "We need to make it over the mountains by nightfall, or else we'll be camped out in the snow!"

The Hell mountains, as the wolves called them, were a vast and dangerous rocky mountain range that stretched on across the country to the sea. It was a rather unpleasent journey to cross the Hell mountains, for there wasn't many accessable passages through, and so the easiest route was right over the top and through one of the craggy peakes. It was a long and strenuous climb, but a route over one of the lower peakes could be completed in a day.

"Bah," grumbled Rowan as he stumbled to his feet and stretched. "My legs fell sore already."

"Oh, stop complaining," teased Trekka good-naturedly. "If you were alpha, what would your pack think of you?"

Frah couldn't help but wonder what sort of animals lived in the mountains, and if the pack could really get over it in one day. He knew that most predators usually weren't active during the day, so if they made it over by nightfall, they should be okay. But what if they didn't, and had to camp out in the snow, not knowing what kind of creatures were lurking in the darkness around them? The alpha shuddered at the thought as he joined Romulus at the head of the pack to lead them to the base of the mountains.

They arrived in about a half hour, and the sun was just beginning to rise in the sky, which left plenty of time for the climb.

"And up we go," murmured Romulus as the wolves began the steep ascent up the rocky hills. For the first hour or two they climbed in silence, up and up until they reached a small outcrop in the mountainside, where they stopped momentarily to rest. The air was cold now, and Frah began to see small flakes of watery snow cascading down around them.

"It's so strange to see snow in the summertime," murmured Trekka, her eyes closed in pleasure as she lifted her muzzle to let the snow rain down on her face. They began to climb again, their hearts lightened by the swirling sparkles. The snow had begun to fall more heavily now, and it clung to the wolves light summer coats. Every once in a while one of them would shake, cascading the others near them in a shower of icy crystals.

They had reached a run of even ground, and were jogging slowly through the flurry of snow, glad to give their sore legs some rest, when suddenly Akita paused, her stance ridgid and her ears perked upwards. The others turned back to watch her.

"Shh, I thought I heard something," she whispered, flicking her ears in all sorts of directions. Frah tipped his ears forwards; he heard a rustling sound in the brush to their left, and his heart jumped as he heard a low growl.

Before he could react, a great brown shape leapt from the crag of rock that hung out above them, bowling Heshin over.

"Mountain lion! Attack!" cried a voice; Frah could not tell whom it belonged to. He leapt forward, his lips curled upwards in a heavy snarl, and landed on the huge cat's back, trying to fasten his jaws around it's thick neck. The mountain cat screamed and rolled off of the scout, crushing Frah off of it's back and swiping him aside with it's heavy paw. Frah tumbled to the side and lay in a daze. The whole pack was fighting the beast together, and their angry snarling could be heard throughout the mountains. Frah stumbled to his feet and threw himself again at the enemy. He got ahold of one of it's back legs, and he latched onto it, snarling.

Suddenly, Trekka yelped; the great cat had grabbed her by the hind leg with it's razor teeth and was shaking her violently. In her desperation, the young female raked her claws against the beast's chest, giving it three bloody gashes it was not soon to forget. The mountain lion screamed and flung the gray wolf across the clearing. She landed heavily and tumbled a few feet, and did not get up.

Romulus yelled and was running over to her when suddenly the scout Beck snarled, hurling himself at the lion's throat. Before he could reach his target, the great cat, yowling in rage, turned and snapped his jaws closed on the scout's neck. The trapped wolf screamed, and suddenly the others heard the sickening snap of breaking bones, and the scout went limp in the lion's jaws.

"You bastard!" snarled Romulus, "I'll rip you apart for that!" and he leapt at the mountain cat's throat. The great cat was caught of guard by the wolf's up-front attack; it reared up to meet him in midair, and suddenly Romulus ducked to the side and leapt upwards once again. His iron jaws closed on the lion's throat. They tussled for a few deathly long moments upright, but the black and brown wolf's jaws remained tight around the lion's throat. They fell to the ground and Romulus was suddenly standing over the creature. He growled in his throat and suddenly his teeth pierced the tough fur and skin, and punctured the animal's windpipe. The mountain cat's scream was suddenly cut off as blood flowed into it's throat. Romulus released his grip and stumbled backwards, panting, his muzzle and chest drenched in steaming scarlet blood. The cat gave a gurgling snar; blood was trickling sluggishly out of it's open mouth, and then it was finally still.

The wolves stayed where they were for a moment, panting and staring at their slain attacker. Trekka was alive; she pushed herself up on her front legs, the rest of her body laying crippled behind her, to watch in horror the mountain cat's grisly death. It was a victory, but they had lost Beck in their fight, and now the winds were picking up; a journey through the mountains now would be suicide.

Heshin and Rettin lifted their fallen friend onto their backs, and waited for Romulus's lead. Trekka was attempting to walk; her back leg was in a bad way. She was oblivious to her family's attempts to ask if she was alright, her face a mask of pain. Frah came forward to help her walk, but Romulus got there first.

"I got 'er," he grumbled as he ducked under Trekka's legs to lift her onto his broad shoulders.

It was a long and troublesome night. The travelors were lucky to find shelter from wind and snow in a small cave that had probably belonged to an old bear during the winter. After the death of Beck, Romulus was left with a severe look in his eyes, and he refused to leave Trekka's side as if he thought it was now his duty to protect her, though she reassured him countless times that she was okay.

The whole party of eight wolves crouched, shivering in a the tiny cave, not daring to sleep for most of the night. When a few of them finally managed to doze off, it was morning time and they had to continue on their journey.

They buried Beck under the snow, but had no spare time to howl for him. They were wary for most of the morning, jumping at every small noise and keeping unnaturally quiet. Finnally, Frah suggested they stop and rest. They had reached a halfway point on the other side of the mountain, and there was an abundance of rabbits in the brush surrounding them. Mekko, Romulus, and Rowan brought back plenty of meat for the others. Frah noticed that Romulus had given most of his catches to Trekka, who had turned most of them away politely, to Romulus's dissapointment. He was either desperate to prove he could care for another wolf after what had happened to Beck, or, Frah thought with a smirk, he had become smitten with Trekka. His daughter seemed to not return the interest, and though she was friendly with him, she sometimes watched him with a hint of mixed dissaproval and curiosity in her eyes.

There was a collective sigh of relief as they reached the base of the mountain. The danger was over now, and all they had left to do was concentrate on the final stretch to the base of Faldorn's pack.


	5. Chapter 5

"How much longer?" groaned Rowan. The drama that had unfurled on the mountain had damaged the original time plan, and now Romulus was convinced that they could make it to the pack by tonight. The sun had set hours ago, and yet they still jogged on.

"Not much longer now," replied Romulus, turning his head to look back at Rowan and the others. "Why, you tired? It's not even that late." He contradicted himself with a wide yawn.

"Faldorn's place or not," murmured Akita. "All I can think about is curling up in a warm den once we're there!"

"I can smell it," reported Heshin. "We've crossed into the territory." With their tails curled in excitement, the eight wolves raced after Heshin. Frah could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Could their plan really work? Would this pack be their home forever if it did not?

As they burst through the trees and into the base, Frah's senses were immediately overwhelmed by all of the smells, sights, and sounds. There were literally hundreds of wolves here, each smelling a bit differently depending on which pack they originally hailed from, but all of their smells melded together to form an exciting new scent; it was strong and musky and prickled Frah's nose. Every ten or fifteen feet or so there were small dugouts; dens large enough to house eight or so wolves at a time. In the near distance, what looked like a miniature mountain rose from the dirt, towering over the trees. It reminded Frah very much of an anthill, for there were many tunnels leading in and out of it, and from where he stood, Frah could see the bodies of wolves moving in and out of the openings. He guessed this was where Faldorn lived. The whole place was in such an uproar that Frah could barely hear himself think. Everywhere there were wolves barking, growling, howling, fighting, playing, talking...Frah wasn't sure if he would ever get used to it all after living in the quiet forest for so long.

"Are you ready?" Frah heard somebody say beside him. He turned to see Romulus looking expectantly at him.

"Sorry, what?" The black and brown wolf grinned.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to the noise after acouple of days. I said, I'm s'posed to show you to an empty den now," he repeated. "Come on." Frah beckoned with his tail to the others, and then followed Romulus through the dozens of wolves to a den which smelled like it didn't currently have an owner.

"Here y'are," cozxed Romulus happily. "Nice and cozy."

"Thanks," growled Trekka sarcastically.

"Ah well," said Frah, staring in dislike at the sad little den. "Looks like it'll fit five alright, so I shouldn't complain."

"Where did the others go?" asked Rowan, who was looking around for Heshin and Rettin.

"Most likely to report to the boss that I've returned with you," replied Romulus. "Speak of the devil, here he comes now." Frah turned to look in the direction Romulus was. A growl immediately rumbled in his throat at the sight of the beast coming towards them.

Faldorn was obviously an alpha. He was huge; making Romulus look like an immature adolescent in his prescense. His coat was grayish brown, and he had a reddish tail and tips on his ears. His body was covered in ugly scars, but the one that Frah immediately noticed was the one that twisted all the way up the right side of his muzzle. It made him look as if his face was frozen into a grotesque, half snarl. He had the appearance of a wolf who had returned from the dead.

"No need to cower," he growled in a cold voice, his green eyes locking in on Frah. "I am Faldorn, and fi you do not cause any trouble for me or my officers, I'm sure that we will get along fine."

You wish, thought Frah, his lips curling up over his teeth involuntarily.

"Romulus, you were late, and only two of your scouts have reported back to me," the gray wolf went on, turning his piercing green eyes to the black wolf, who straightened up under his leader's gaze. "Why has the other not come to me?"

Frah saw a small flicker of fear in Romulus's eyes, but it quickly passed.

"Beck was-" he stuttered. "He was killed by a mountain lion, sir. That is why we are late." Faldorn growled; the left side of his face resembled the right, which was now even more disturbing.

"I expect my officers to know how to look after their own patrols!" he said in a dangerously calm voice, his neck fur bristling.

"Yes sir, but-" Romulus did not finish his sentence, as Faldorn knocked Romulus to the ground with one swipe of his heavy paw.

"Fool!" Faldorn snarled, as Romulus struggled to his feet, blood from his head trickling over one of his eyes. "You disgust me Romulus, you're nothing more than a pitiful pup to me...Let something like this happen again, and you will fear my teeth." Romulus bowed his head to Faldorn, who stared at him in anger before turning his eyes to the rest of Frah's pack. He passed over each one of them slowly, before his gaze locked onto Akita. He licked his lips and shouldered past Frah to come closer to her. Frah growled as he turned to watch Faldorn. Akita lowered herself to the ground and lay here ears back as he approached. A low growl rumbled in her throat.

"Now now, no need to be frightened," smirked Faldorn, an amused gleam flashing in his cold eyes. "You're a pretty thing, aren't you?"

"Don't you touch her!" snarled Frah, throwing himself at the gray wolf with all the power he could muster. Faldorn's head snapped toward Frah, and he grabbed the brown wolf in midair by his stomach, as if he were a pesky fly. Frah gasped as cold fangs peirced tender flesh. Faldorn snarled and threw him across the clearing. Frah choked as his back collided with something hard; he hit a rock and sunk slowly to the ground. He didn't dare move for thinking he would split in two. Faldorn stared at him from across the clearing, his eyes narrowed into slits of distaste. Behind him, Akita and the others watched in horror. Romulus looked as if he was both impressed and terrified.

"Come with me," Faldorn said to Akita, and he turned to walk away. Akita stared in terror at Frah, who had managed to lift his head to look at her.

"Akita..." he breathed. Akita stood motionless, as if frozen on the spot, and then slowly, as if some force was drawing her, she placed her right paw forwards and began to follow Faldorn. Her eyes stared at Frah, and they looked frightened and empty. She slunk forward, her tail between her legs, and she was gone.

"Shit..." breathed Mekko, his eyes narrowed as he stared after his sister. Trekka and Rowan rushed forward to help their father to his feet. Trekka's eyes echoed her mother's.

"He's taken her," growled Frah. "I swear, I will get her back!" Nobody replied to this comment, for they all stared at their feet. After a long silence, Romulus raised his head and turned to Trekka.

"You're lucky for your scars," he said. "If you'd not gotten them in the fight, he would have taken you too." Trekka met his eyes for a moment and then turned away.

Rowan, who had remained silent through the whole time, backed away from his pack and turned to run. He circled the whole base, just for something to do that blinded him of what had happened. Suddenly, he heard a yelp which was strangely familiar.

"Leave me alone!" Rowan turned to see a small black female who was being shouldered by two large males. Both had a hungry gleam in their eyes, but the female remained defiant and seemed to be trying to fight both of the large males by herself. Suddenly Rowan knew who she was.

It was Sascha.


	6. Chapter 6

Rowan stared at the three wolves in before him with a mixed feeling of anger, revoltion, and happiness. He couldn't believe it; Sascha was alive! He couldn't stand seeing her in this state. The two wolves on either side of her were bullies, and as Rowan watched, he felt the fighting urge burning in his hide.

Sascha growled angrily and tried to bite at one of her harassers legs, but he shouldered her aside easily.

"Let go of me!" she barked, her amber eyes blazing as she reared on her hind legs to try an escape.

"But why can't we just have a little bit of fun?" crooned one of the wolves, a muscular red male, pushing himself against her. She struggled, but the other wolf, who was gray, pressed his face against hers, licking his chops.

"Relax," he soothed, smirking. "We're not going to hurt you!" He snapped playfully, and Sascha yelped and jumped back in fright, causing the two males to laugh. Rowan had seen enough.

"Leave her alone," he growled, stepping forward and raising his tail in agression. Ever hair on his body stood straight up, and a deep growl welled in his throat.

"Rowan!" gasped Sascha, her tail raising happily. The wolf on her right growled and stepped forward.

"And what if we don't?" he asked, raising his brow and smirking. "What 'chu gunnna do, huh pup?" Rowan snarled and leapt forward. The red male, who was caught off guard by the ferocity of Rowan's attack, stumbled backwards as the younger wolf clamped his jaws on his neck, gutteral snarls erupting from behind his sharp teeth. He knocked the larger wolf off balance and pinned him to the ground, where his soft neck and belly were exposed.

"Alright!" the red wolf choked, his eyes wide and his jaws open as he struggled for breath. "Alright! We'll leave her alone!" Rowan made sure he drew a little blood for the red wolf to remember him by before letting him go. The defeated wolf struggled to his feet and bounded away with the other male, who kept glancing over at Rowan with disbelief as they dissapeared into the anthill.

Rowan stared after them, panting and holding his tail high in victory. He turned to Sascha, who came to his side and curled her tail around his affectionately.

"Thank you," she said softly."I can't believe you're here!" Rowan gladly touched his nose to hers, still recovering from the shock that Sascha was standing here next to him, alive and well. They began to walk silently through the surrounding forest silently, rejoicing in each other's company. After a long while, Rowan turned his head toward her's.

"Why are you here?" he asked, his voice breaking into selfish excitement. "How are you still alive?" Sascha pressed her nose into Rowan's neck, shivering against the cold and the sour memories that came rushing back to her now. She was silent for a few minutes; Rowan didn't press her, he just leaned against her, reveling in the feel of her warm fur, the smell of her and the sight of her breath, sparkling like mist in the cold black air that hung around them. Finally, she spoke.

"They found us when we were leaving," she said, her voice shaking as it pierced the silence. "They killed everyone," she paused and lowered her head, a silvery tear glistening in the corner of her eye.

"They thought-" she continued. "They thought that Faldorn would like to keep me as one of his females...they killed my family in front of my eyes." Rowan pressed against her as she stopped and sat down, trying to fathom the pain he would feel to watch Trekka, Frah, Akita-his family-die, in front of him while he was unable to do anything to help them.

"They took me back here, but Faldorn didn't want me. He only takes perfect wolves, you know," her voice heightened into bitter hysteria, but then she sighed. "and I was thin and tired and crying, and bleeding from where they bit me to hold me down when I tried to run away."

"I think you're beautiful," Rowan said.

"Thank you," Sascha said sarcastically. "Faldorn said that I could stay, even though I was useless, to be the officer's 'plaything'." she shuddered. "I hate it here Rowan, please say you'll stay with me always? They won't hurt me anymore if you're here." She suddenly turned and nuzzled her head under Rowan's neck, overcome with emotion. Rowan lay his head ontop of hers, sighing deeply as he comforted his friend.

"I promise," he said, sitting down next to her. Sascha laughed emotionlessly.

"I'm sorry for breaking down on you like this," she said, smiling sadly. "It's just that, well, I miss my family so much, and this whole thing seems like a bad dream...and now you're here, and everything seems brighter." Rowan smiled, and suddenly, he opened his eyes.

"Sascha!" he said. "Sascha, we're going to leave! We have a plan, my father and I, and it will work, I swear it will! Will you come with me?" Sascha was silent, and Rowan could almost hear her thinking.

"Yes," she agreed. "Of course I will. Where else would I go?" Rowan smiled and stared up at the night sky; how bright the stars seemed!

"It's late," he said. "Shall we go back?"

"No," Sascha replied. "No, I don't think I'm ready to. Will you stay with me tonight?" Rowan nodded and lay down next to his friend, feeling his body become warm despite the cold night.


	7. Chapter 7

Frah was very pleased with the number of wolves he had managed to persuade so far; six alphas had agreed to help Frah with the plan, and nearly all of the wolves who were alone or had lost their mate to Faldorn had agreed to come with him. He and Heshin sometimes wandered around the anthill, hoping to get a glimpse of their mates, or otherwise figure out how they were going to get them out when they left the pack. Frah had not considered this crucial part of the plan when Rowan and Trekka had first told it to him. He couldn't leave without Akita, and that was a huge obstacle that could not be overlooked.

Frah stood and stretched his legs, yawning as he walked out of the den. It had been five days since Akita had been taken from him, and his heart ached terribly for her. He needed to find a way, he knew that now. The plan could not work without her.

Frah spied Trekka's pale gray fur acouple dens over, and he went to her for help, If anyone could think of a way, it was his clever daughter. Trekka had found a patch of warm sunshine and had stretched out in it, letting the gentle rays heat her fur. She lifted her head as she saw Frah approach.

"Hello," she said, sitting up and stretching her front legs.

"We need to revise the plan," Frah said. Trekka's eyes widened, and she looked around quickly.

"Shh!" she hissed. "Don't say it so loud! But it's alright, I've been talking to Romulus, and he think's he's figured out a way. That's right, I know you're thinking about mother," she said with a weak smile as Frah raised his brow in surprise. "I could tell from your eyes."

"What does Romulus want to do?" Frah asked, cocking his head to one side.

"He could tell you better than I could," Trekka replied. "He only told me the main idea. Do you want me to take you to him?" Frah nodded and Trekka jumped to her feet to lead him across the large clearing to the anthill, where Frah suspected the officers slept.

"Their dens are all around the base," Trekka explained. "His is in the back. Come on," She set off at a jog around the base until they reached a den that Trekka stopped in front of. She sniffed the air around it and then led Frah down the entrance tunnel.

Romulus was sleeping inside, a soft rustling sound coming from his nose when he breathed out. Trekka aproached him and prodded his flank with her nose.

"Romulus," she whispered. Frah walked in and sat down as Romulus groaned and opened his eyes. When he that Trekka was his awaker, he grinned and said, "Hey," Trekka turned away, her whiskers twitching.

"Frah's here," she said dully, stepping back to sit by her father. "He wants to know your idea." Romulus stood and shook his heavy pelt.

"Yeah?" he said. "Thought of it myself." He winked at Trekka, who rolled her eyes. The big mottled black wolf went on.

"Every night, one officer patrols the whole area while the others sleep. I'd volunteer the night we leave, and then when the others are asleep I'll go back to the anthill and get the females. Nobody else lives inside except Faldorn and his most trusted guards, like Kaden..." he growled the name, as if the wolf had wronged him in the past. "They'll reckognize my scent if they wake up, but wont be suspicious, because I smell the same as the other guards. Anyway, I bring them down to the big den-that's where all the wolves that have no packs sleep, so it's plenty big enough for everyone who's leaving to meet up. You'll need to tell everyone to meet there beforehand, and what day too. And then we'll slip off in the night."

"That was real good, Romulus," said Frah, impressed.

"I have my moments," the black and brown wolf replied, his tongue lolling.

"I think it could work," nodded Trekka, turning her blue gaze upon Frah. "We should go and tell the wolves now, and try to get others to come with us."

"Then we'll leave in two days's time?" Frah prompted. The others agreed, and they set out to recruit more wolves.

Frah spent his night curled in a cold corner of the den. It was chilly in here; the den was originally built for a much larger pack. Sascha, Rowan's friend, was staying with them now, but they still only had five, making the nights biting and uncomfortable.

The alpha was drowsy, yet he couldn't seem to close his eyes. Tommorow night they would leave, and he would finally see his beautiful Akita again.

During the day, Romulus and Trekka had made sure to find every wolf who had lost his mate when they arrived at the pack. It increased their numbers greatly, and Frah was beginning to believe that it was going to work! Most of the wolves who lived here; give or take a few packs who were to cowardly to leave, had agreed to help with the escape. With the thought of seeing his beautiful mate again, Frah drifted into sleep.

As the pale morning light filtered into the den, Rowan woke and found that Sascha was not beside him. He followed her scent outside and to the great den where the pack-less wolves lived, and found her talking to a strange colored auburn and white wolf with light blue eyes. Her belly was swollen with pups, and she looked tired but happy.

"Hello," said Rowan, sitting down beside Sascha. She nuzzled her head against his shoulder in greeting.

"Rowan, this is Mikash," she said. "She's kinda like a mother to me, 'cuz she kind of took me in when I first arrived here." Mikash's ears flicked in Rowan's direction as he approached, and she turned her head to him. She seemed to study him closely before meeting his eyes, but something was wrong about her gaze, though Rowan could not discern what it was.

"Hello," she replied, in a strange but calming voice. It was deeper than most she-wolves, and she had a strange accent that Rowan had never heard before. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Rowan. Sascha tells me wonderful things about you." Sascha grinned sheepishly and averted her eyes from Rowan's.

"You too," Rowan replied. "Have you been here long?" Mikash smiled sadly and gazed off in the distance.

"Yes," she replied. "I first came with my mate Ander, but the officers killed him about a month ago. He liked to fight." She added simply, a touch of a smile coming to her delicate and strange features.

"I'm sorry," Rowan said, dipping his head slightly.

"Oooh, but she's having pups!" Sascha said, wagging her tail as if nothing in the world could matter more. "Mikash, when will they be born? Oh, I can't wait to have a litter of my own!" Her eyes found Rowan and she smiled. Mikash laughed lightly at Sascha's outburst.

"Yes, it doesnt give me something to look forward to," she replied, her blue eyes shining. "They'll be born in about a month, I think."

"Congratulations," said Rowan. New pups were always something to look forward to.

"Have you heard about the plan to leave yet?" Sascha asked casually. "I was going to ask you earlier, but it slipped my mind." Mikash nodded, her eyes gleaming.

"Your father found me yesterday," she replied, turning her head to Rowan as her bushy tail wagged in excitement. "Of course I'll come."

"Great," Rowan said, his tongue lolling. "We'll see you tonight, then?" Mikash smiled nervously and nodded.

"I think I'll go get a drink," Sascha said. "I'll be back in a second!" She darted out of the den in the direction of the stream. Mikash turned her head after her as she went, and then turned back to Rowan.

"She's in love with you, you know," she said conversationally, laying down and tucking her paws under her chest.

"...wha?" gaped Rowan, who was caught off guard by the red wolf's frankness.

"Oh yes," Mikash went on, her eyes sparkling mischieviously. "I can tell. She said your name in her sleep all the time, mostly before you came here." Rowan ducked his head in embarressment.

"Well, I don't know what to say-" he started, but Mikash cut him off.

"Do you love her?" she persisted. Rowan really didn't know what to say; he hadn't really though about it before now. He knew that he would do anything to see Sascha everyday, and he would die to protect her. If that was love, then he loved her more than anything.

"I think I do," Rowan admitted, lowering his tail sheepishly. Mikash laughed, sounding like the birds chirping in the morning.

"Well, you need to tell her!" she said. "She's not one to wait for long!"

"Oh-okay," said Rowan, not sure if he completely understood. Then again, he rarely understood his sister, Sascha, or any other she-wolves he knew. Mikash stared past him, and her ears pricked forward before Rowan's as she heard Sascha approach.

"Rowan!" she called. "Come here!" Rowan turned to Mikash, but she smiled.

"Go," she said, nodding in his direction. Rowan stood and walked past her, he noticed something strange about her eyes...

"You're blind!" he gasped. Mikash smiled past him.

"Yes Rowan," she nodded. "But in a way, I can see things better than you can." Rowan gaped at her as he left the den. How could she see through him so clearly-when she couldn't see? I'll have to introduce her to Trekka, he thought dryly, as his sister was capable of the same thing. He met Sascha and touched his nose to hers.

"Rowan, there's a huge fish in the stream, come and see if you can help me catch it!" she said happily. Rowan smiled and followed her down the hill. The summer sunlight danced on her dark pelt, and Rowan knew that she was his and he was hers. The only thing left to do now was tell her, as Mikash said.


	8. Chapter 8

"We're good to go," grinned Romulus as he trotted out of one of the anthill's many tunnels. "I'll guard the pack tonight, so we can all meet up without disturbance."

"Great!" replied Trekka, wagging her tail and leaping up to match the officer's pace as he trotted through camp.

"Where will you go when we leave?" Romulus asked after some silence.

"I don't know, mostly likely back with my own pack," Trekka replied somewhat awkwardly. It seemed to her that Romulus was hinting that she go with him, but she wished he would just say it outright so she could refuse. No matter how much she liked Romulus, he was much too loud and flirtacious for her liking. Not that she didn't enjoy the attention, she just felt as if she was no different to him than the other females he messed around with.

"No idea what I'm going to do," Romulus said, bringing Trekka from her state of thought.

"Well- why not?" she asked, cocking her head to the side as they circled the territory.

"Well...I was born into Faldorn's pack, really," Romulus said. "Well, actually, my mother was of the same pack Faldorn's mother was in-it was that way for most of the officers. His family-his mother, father, and him, tended to stay away from everyone else. One day, he was hunting with them when he was young, and a bear attacked his mother-his father ran away, the ugly wimp," Romulus bared his teeth. "Faldorn watched his mother die, and tried to fight the bear himself-that's where he got his scar, you know. After that, he went crazy-killed his father, and when he was older, he ordered us to hunt down the bear...that's when he took over." Trekka was silent for a moment; she had always thought of Faldorn as being the kind of wolf who was born evil, but now, she could almost see where he came from.

"That's horrible, it really is," she said softly. "But I still can't see why he had to build this pack, and how could he seperate families and kill so many after what happened to his own mother?"

"I really don't think he had a reason, I really don't," replied Romulus. "He's probably crazy in the head after seeing the things he saw...and just the kind o' guy who's naturally powerhungry." Trekka fell silent for a moment, and then she turned to Romulus.

"When I was really little, my father saw a strange wolf in our territory, and he almost killed him," she said suddenly. "I smelled the blood from the den, and I ran as fast as I could out to where they were and stopped him. That's how we got Shino," she laughed, glancing at Romulus, who remained silent. "I couldn't stand anything about the fighting- the smell of the blood, the sight, the sounds...if tonight comes to a fight, I don't know if I'll be able to do anything."

"I'll protect you," Romulus growled.

"I know," Trekka laughed, pushing her head into his neck playfully. "I will try, though. I swear I will." Her eyes smoldered.

The only sound that could be heard in the black night was the subtle rustling of pawsteps as a dark figure rushed to the mouth of a den, crouching down and whispering urgently. Seconds later, five wolves padded silently out into the night, and followed the first wolf to the great den. There, they waited in anxious silence until the first gave them the all-clear, and they began to talk.

"I waited 'till everyone was asleep before coming," murmured Romulus, raising his tail and wagging it in excitement.

"Good," replied Frah. "Did you get the females?"

"Uh huh," said Romulus, and Frah's paws danced and his tail waved in happiness. "They're waking the others, and bringing them here."

"So you know the whole plan?" said Mekko. Romulus nodded.

"I'll skirt the entire territory twice while you wait for the others and fill them in," he recited. He nodded at Frah, Mekko, and caught Trekka's eye before turning to dash off. Trekka watched him go with a sort of dignified silence, and then lay down to await her mother's arrival.

At about the time Romulus had skirted the territory once, Trekka sat up and perked her ears in the direction of the small dens. By this time, most of the wolves who had been sleeping in the great den had come out to wait for the others, their tails waving in excitement.

Suddenly, Trekka stood and wagged her tail. A long band of wolves were coming from the camp, and Frah could see a gray wolf with distinctive black-tipped ears running at the front.

"Akita," he breathed, trotting quickly forward to meet her. He closed the last few feet with a bound, and they danced joyfully together in the moonlight, jumping to their hind feet and running 'round eachother in pure happiness. Akita came to him and rubbed her head against his neck affectionately; Frah felt his heart soar for the first time since arriving here. He was complete.

"I missed you so much," he heard Akita breath, and he saw love in her warm blue eyes that he had missed so much.

Trekka, Rowan, and Mekko had bounded forward and were wriggling with excitement, covering the gray female with affectionate licks. Everyone else was rejoicing with loved onces; Heshin had found his mate Palli at last. Frah knew that they had been here much longer than him; they stood together, silent and with their noses touching, their eyes open and gazing into the other's.

Frah hated to end this happy moment, but he knw that he had to fill everyone in before Romulus got back.

"Alright," he called. "Everybody inside!"

Once everyone was comfortably seated inside, Rowan and Frah stood to look over the others.

"Most of you already know the plan," Rowan said, loking around the den at everyone's expectant faces. "But we still need to figure out what's going to happen after we leave."

"Can't we just split back into our original packs?" asked Palli.

"Some of us have nowhere to go," said Mikash, her eyes staring off into nothingness.

"I think it would be best to all stick together for some time after," said Trekka from where she sat next to her mother. "We'd go far from here, and live close together for a while until we're sure that they aren't going to attack us. Then we can split back up, but our territories should all be close just in case anything ever happens again." She stopped, and the gathered wolves seemed to agree; there was a general nodding and murmuring from the crowd.

"Good idea," said Frah, nodding at his daughter, who looked pleased. "now all we have to do is wait until Romulus gets-"

"Wait a second," said Mikash, her voice strangely sharp. She stood stiffly, her ears perked to the entrance of the den. "I hear something. Somebody's coming." Frah perked his ears, and he did hear footsteps. Anxiety crept over him as he realized that they were very fast and loud, as if somebody was running at full spee dtoward the den.

At that moment, Romulus skidded into sight at the mouth of the den. His eyes were wide and he was panting heavily; foam was dripping from his muzzle. Every hair on his body seemed to be sticking straight up.

"They're coming!" he barked urgently. "They've found out! Everybody go, quick!"


	9. Chapter 9

Suddenly, everything was pandemonium in the crowded den as wolves lept to their feet, their eyes wild with panic and fear. Frah was about to adress them when suddenly three large shapes bowled into Romulus from behind and rolled into the den in a violent ball of snarling wolves. They pinned Romulus down on his back, two holding each hind leg, and the other's jaws clamped around his throat.

Frah moved forward, snarling, but one of the officers growled through his teeth,

"You move an inch and we'll kill him," Frah halted, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat. The others had retreated to the back of the den, and all had expressions of disbelief and pure horror on their gaping faces. Only a few had stepped forward behind Frah, ready to fight if needed.

Frah couldn't see a way out of this one; they were trapped in this den, and if he attacked, the guards would quickly finish off Romulus, who was squirming and growling under their grasps. They were caught, and he had probably led all of these wolves to their deaths.

A big greyish-brown wolf had appeared at the den opening. He smirked down at Romulus, who snarled and struggled harder against his captors, but a hasty bite to the throat caused him to cry out in pain, and he fell silent.

"Kaden..." he hissed. The brown wolf ignored him.

"It seems that word of an escape has leaked to our ears," the newcomer sneered as his green eyes passed over everyone in turn. When he saw Sascha gape and turn her head to look at the others, he laughed cooly, his handsome face mocking. "Don't worry, none of your precious friends betrayed you," his eyes gleamed. "We have a way of knowing when something's up." He paused in front of Romulus, and lowered his muzzle near his ear.

"You know, I never did like you," he murmured conversationally, a growl rumbling deep in his chest. "Always a little lazy about night patrols, aren't we? Try not to be so enthusiastic next time you 'volunteer', eh?" Romulus growled and snapped at his face, but Kaden laughed and stamped on his muzzle.

"I see you've all got a little spunk left, huh?" he drawled, his eyes flickering to Frah, who growled again. "Well, we'll see how you feel after I take you to Faldorn. Come now, we don't want your friend here to get hurt." He turned and beckoned with his tail for his guards to follow. They dragged Romulus, still struggling, out after him.

"Shit," growled Rowan, who stood beside Frah. "We'll all die."

"Who was that?" asked Sascha. "Romulus doesn't seem to like him very much."

"That's Kaden," replied Heshin, who was one of Romulus's good friends. "He's Faldorn's second in command. He picks on Romulus for being lazy alot, but I think the real reason behind it all is because Romulus is second best looking next to Kaden," He gave a weak smile. "That's all he really cares about, I guess."

Frah remained silent, clenching his jaw in anger. He wouldn't allow Faldorn to hurt any of his friends, no matter what it took! He alone raised his tail high on the long and silent walk to the anthill. The mood was bleak, as the same thought seemed to be replay over and over again through everyone's minds; we are going to die tonight, we'll never have freedom, just death.

They padded slowly into the dark tunnels of the anthill, where each followed the one in front; in here, they could only rely on their hearing and sense of smell. Soon they entered a large den, where they came to a halt. A single shaft of pale moonlight entered through a hole in the rocky ceiling, illuminating the room in a pale blue glow. Faldorn was seated in the shaft of light, clearing waiting for them. The light cast eerie shadows over his scarred face, making him seem like some demon out of a wolf's nightmare.

"Let him go," he said in his cold voice, and immediately the three guards holding Romulus let him fall to the ground, where he gasped for breath and struggled to stand. Faldorn watched in silence until the rogue officer found his strength and pulled himself to his feet, his chin raised defiantly.

"I'm very dissapointed, Romulus," the gray wolf said, while he watched him, his eyes narrowed. "What am I ever going to do with you? I cannot have officers that do not obey me."

"Cut the crap," Romulus panted, his hackles raised. "and just get it over with. None of them had anything to do with it, it was all me, okay?" Frah stared at him in horror. He couldn't let this wolf, his friend sacrifice himself for him.

"As you wish," Faldorn said, his eyes gleaming. "Watch closely everyone, and watching your friend die a weakling's death will be punishment enough for your actions."

"Wait," Frah said, as Faldorn stepped forward with a hungry shine in his eyes. "It was my idea. Take me as well, but don't kill him. I influenced his desicion, and asked him to come with me." Faldorn's eyes narrowed.

"I remember you," he growled. "You're the one who tried to attack me on your first day." He stared into Frah's eyes, but Frah raised his chin and refused to look away.

"Fine," Faldorn said finaly. "Kaden, put them in the guarded dens, until I figure out what to do with them." At his words, Kaden smirked as he shouldered Frah and began to lead him to a different tunnel than they had come from. Romulus limped close behind, flanked by two other guards. Frah glanced over his shoulder at his family; they watched him go with a sort of forced indifference, but each of them met his eyes painfully as he went.

"Right, heroes, say hello to your new homes," sneered Kaden as he pushed both Frah and Romulus into seperate dens. Frah's was cramped and smelled strongly of rotting flesh. Bile rose in Frah's throat; he concentrated on breathing through his mouth and caught the tail end of Kaden saying something to another wolf.

"They're all yours now," he said, and then Frah heard him pad away. A dark shadow appeared in the entrance of Frah's den.

"I remember you," the shadow figure sneered, and Frah recognized the voice.

"Butch," he growled. This would make his imprisonment all the more pleasent.


	10. Chapter 10

Frah didn't remember when the hours and days began to blend dogether. There was almost no light coming into his den, making it nearly impossible to tell day from night. The only thing that gave him something to look forward to were the times that Trekka or Rowan came to visit him. They came with bad news though; the females had been taken back by Faldorn, new packs had arrived, and the officers wasted no time in doing everything possible to make the rebel's miserable.

In his immense boredom, Frah managed to memorize Butch's daily schedule. In the morning, he would come to relieve the night guard, checking in on both Romulus and Frah before standing at his pst. In a few lazy hours, he would wander off to relieve himself, and come back wtih water from the stream soaked into moss. Then he would taunt Romulus, whom Frah could not hear, and then move to Frah. Oh, how he longed to sink his teeth into Butch's throat. The thought gave him some satisfaction through the lonely days, but Frah knew that if he stayed in here much longer, he would go insane, and then his pack would never be able to leave. In a fit of restlessness one night, Frah began to scratch a hole through the wall of dirt seperating Romulus from him. It took most of the night, and was a tedious and painful process. Soon Frah felt as if every claw would rip off, but he kept up the digging until finally a small portion of the wall fell away and created an opening just large enough for Frah to stick his face through.

He leaned against the opening, careful not to let dirt fall in his eyes as he peered through. He saw the dark figure of Romulus curled in the far corner. His mismatched eyes stared past Frah and out of the entrance to the den. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, as he did not notice Frah poking his head through.

"Romulus," whispered Frah, and when he did not recieve a reply, he hissed. "Romulus! Snap out of it!" The black and brown wolf jumped and grunted, but seemed to come out of his daze. He turned his head to find the source of the noise and stared at Frah, who stared back silently.

"Oh hey," said Romulus finally, "Sorry, I was spacing out. Why is your head in my den?"

"We need to find a way out of here," hissed Frah desperately. Romulus sat up and scratched behind his ear with his hind foot. Frah could see that he had grown thinner. Romulus put his foot down and stared out of the tunnel.

"It's impossible," he replied, his eyes flickering back to Frah. "Nobody's ever escaped from down here. Ever." He added, as if trying to prove his point. Frah sighed in exhasperation. He didn't want to hear what he couldn't do. They had to leave, they simply had to.

"There has to be some way," he pressed. "Come on, we can't stay in here forever!" Romulus's eyes went dark.

"Most do," he replied, his expression grim. "They all end up going insane in the end. I only wish that I could have done something differently that night. Then we could have been long gone by now, and I never had the chance to tell her-" His face grew blank and he lay down again, resuming his staring out the tunnel. Frah felt that he needed to be left alone.

The brown wolf left the opening and curled up in his corner, shivering in the cold. He was accustomed to sleeping pressed against the warm bodies of his pack, but now he had to face the long nights alone.

Frah sighed, realizing that if he did not leave, he would be in here for the rest of his life. He wouldn't think of that matter now. He needed sleep. Frah tucked his nose under his tail, closing his eyes to the darkness. He eventually drifted into a sort of half sleep, in which he dreampt of Akita's face.

Frah opened his eyes. He had been woken by the sound of Butch coming to replace the night guard. Frah sat up and stretched his back legs and arched his back, yawning widely. He stood, knocking the top of his head against the ceiling. After he had recovered, he peered into Romulus's den. He was facing away from Frah, still asleep.

At about mid-day, Butch left and came back dragging two legs of deer. He pushed one piece into Frah's den, where it rolled down the entrance tunnel and accumulated a fine coating of dirt. Nevertheless, Frah tore ravenously at the puny portion of meat, rejoicing in the feeling of having food in his belly once again. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.

When all that remained were dry bones, Frah stretched out to nap. As he let the jumble of thoughts from the day wash over him, he pictured with a jolt in his stomach the horrible scene in which he and the other rebels were cornered in the great den, unable to do anything. Frah whined and rolled over, trying to shake the memory from his mind, but suddenly he thought of something. He sat bolt-upright, his ears pricked to the outside to make sure Butch wasn't watching him. All the while, excited thoughts raced through his mind. It couldn't really work, could it? No, it was much too simple. Still, I can't see any problems...could this be it?

Dazed, Frah padded over to the hole and squeezed his head through. Romulus was gnawing on a leg bone, but noticed Frah and pricked his ears in his direction.

"Yeah?" he asked when he noticed the expression on Frah's face. The brown wolf turned his face upward, his eyes sparkling.

"I think I've got a plan."

Frah slept well for the first time since arriving in his prison. Romulus had approved of the idea, and now all they could do was wait until the events they relied on to take place.

A couple hours later when he awoke from his nap, Frah grew bored and wandered over to the hole to talk with Romulus.

"Where will you go after?" he asked. The black and brown wolf pricked his ears in the direction of Frah's voice, and he turned to look at him.

"Me?" he said. "I don't really know...I had no pack and no mate to begin with."

"You're welcome to stay with me," offered Frah. "I was thinking that we should split into two groups...one would be like the guard, and the other would live inside of us...if small packs of guards were stationed all around a main territory, like in a circle. At least until we knew that everything was over, then we could settle down again."

"It's a good idea, but..." Romulus paused and averted his gaze, looking sheepish. "I know it's stupid, but I'm hoping Trekka would agree to come with me," He glanced quickly into Frah's eyes, and when he found no dissaproval he continued. "I think I may love her...it's the first time I've ever felt love for a female I've known, and the wierd thing is...she's the first who doesn't seem to want me." Frah held back a chuckle.

"Trekka hides her emotions well," he said. "But when she looks at you, I see a mix of dissaproval, fear, and curiosity. She's never met anyone like you before, but she knows how you are with females, and she's scared she'll be just another one of your flings." Romulus watched him quizzically.

"Is that really how she feels?" he asked. Frah nodded in reply, and Romulus turned to look out of his den, something solemn about his features. "Ah." he said simply. Frah, again had the feeling that he needed to be alone.


	11. Chapter 11

Frah yawned and opened his eyes. A small glimmer of sun filtered into his den, giving everything a strange, pale glow. The brown wolf rolled onto his back and scratched the back of his neck, but suddenly paused, his ears pricked. He heard soft voices coming from Romulus's den. Careful not to make his prescense known, Frah sat up and tipped his head towards the hole.

"No...no Romulus, I can't..." Frah realized with a jolt that he was hearing Trekka.

"Why not?" came Romulus's hushed barking. "We could start our own pack, have a family, why won't you come with me?"

"I just can't!"

"Why? Why are you so afraid? I love you Trekka, I love you!" There was silence on Trekka's part, and then Romulus spoke again.

"For the first time in my life, I've fallen in love with someone, and when I do, they don't love me back."

"I never said that,"

"Oh-ho, so you do love me, then?"

"What? I- you- you're twisting my words!" snapped Trekka's voice. "This matter can wait." Frah heard her angry footsteps leave Romulus's den. He hastily lay down and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep so his daughter would not know he had spied on her conversation with Romulus. Why had she refused? Romulus had been honest with her, and yet she still turned from his advances. Sometimes she-wolves were just too hard to understand.

"Father?" Frah opened one eye. Trekka stood in the doorway, her face oddly composed, as if to hide the fact that she wanted to cry.

"You have two minutes," grumbled Butch's voice from somewhere outside the den. Trekka padded inside and pressed her neck against Frah's, sighing.

"Trekka..." Frah murmured as he took in a breath of his daughter's sweet scent, so much like her mother's. Trekka pulled away and looked Frah in the eyes.

"Romulus told me of your plan," she whispered emotionlessly. "When will it happen?"

"I don't know for sure," Frah replied. "Be wary, and have the others ready to fight at a moments notice." Trekka nodded, her blue eyes clouded with thought.

"I'll go spread the word," she said, and she turned and vanished out of the tunnel. Frah watched her go, and then settled down to nap, again. There wasn't much else he could do. But now, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the next opportunity they had to put the plan in action, they would take it.

The pale shaft of light that filtered into Frah's den was a pleasent orange color now, and the anxious wolf knew it was almost time. His throat was dry; he hadn't had any water since the early morning, and now the sun was setting.

Frah lay his head on his paws, and entertained himself by watching Butch's black tail waving slowly back and forth from where he sat just outside of Frah's line of sight. Suddenly the tail vanished from sight, and Frah raised his head abruptly, his ears pricked forward. He heard heavy footfalls as Butch padded away from his post. Frah's heart pumped excitedly, and despite himself, his tongue lolled out of his open mouth as he stood to press his face against the gap in the wall.

"Romulus," he called. "Butch's gone to get the water! It's almost time!" Romulus turned his head towards Frah's voice, and he jumped up, his tail brushing the ceiling as he lifted it in nervous excitement. His eyes took on a mischievious sparkle.

"Has he?" he asked. "Oh good, I've been aching to stretch my legs all week!" Frah grinned, dancing on his paws in anticipation.

"Be ready," he warned. "You'll hear me." And he dissapeared back into his own den.

The minutes seemed to creep by like hours. Frah grew more and more impatient, until finally he padded out into the tunnel and peeked outside of his den. He started as he saw a glimpse of Butch coming around the corner, a large clump of dripping moss clamped in his jaws. He darted back into the main den, hoping that Butch had not seen him. Every hair on his pelt was standing on end, and he felt his stomach churn with anxiety. He tensed his muscles, sinking down into a crouch. The hairs on his shoulder bristled, and as he heard the sounds of Butch coming down the tunnel, his breathing muffled by the wet moss he was holding, Frah's hackles raised and a low growl rumbled in his chest.

Only a millisecond after Butch's face came into view, Frah was ontop of him, tearing at the back of his neck as his hind legs pushed the black wolf's face into the dirt. Butch struggled, and the only sound that came from his mouth was a wet slurping as he struggled to inhale against the water-soaked moss. Frah looked out of the den entrance; Romulus was coming down to his aid, his face twisted in a gleeful snarl. Together they bit and shouldered the struggling guard into a corner, where they pressed roughly against him, keeping his muzzle pressed firmly into the moss. Butch's eyes bulged out of his sockets as he floundered about and scratched at the rocky floor, but Frah and Romulus pressed on, until finally, after about a minute had passed, Butch's eyes rolled back in their sockets and he slumped down in the dirt.

"Should we kill him?" asked Romulus gruffly, prodding Butch's limp form with a forepaw. Frah shook his head.

"No," he answered, staring at the black wolf before leaning down to remove the moss from his mouth to allow him to breathe. "Bastard he may be, but he was merely carrying out Faldorn and Kaden's orders." Romulus shrugged and turned to run out of the den, Frah close on his heels, to leave Butch to regain his conciousness alone.

Frah let the cool air black back his fur as they dashed outside, rejoicing in the feel of wind and the outside. The two escaped prisoners raced up the winding slopes of the anthill, until Frah reached a point where he could see all of the wolves in the clearing below. Romulus had told him that twilight would be the best time to launch an attack; most officers were on an evening patrol at this time, and weren't lazing around the anthill.

Frah raised his face to the sky and howled, loud and pure. In his howl he said, Brothers and sisters! The time comes for battle! Fight! Fight for your freedom and honor! The howl echoed all across the clearing, and Frah could see faces begin to turn upwards toward his.

What officers were left at camp began to rush forward at Frah, but the others caught them before they came close to the anthill and bowled them over in a snarling tussle. The officers were vastly outnumbered, but Frah knew he had to be quick before the others returned from their patrols, or his wolves would begin to die.

"Romulus, stay here and warn me if anyone is coming," he said. Romulus nodded and took Frah's place as the brown wolf rushed down the nearest tunnel. He had a vague idea what the inside of the anthill looked like, but he was still utterly lost as he darted through what seemed like endless tunnels of darkness. Finally he came to the opening that was Faldorn's den. Cautiously, he crept by it, his tail low as he peered inside. Faldorn was not there.

Frah broke into a sprint as soon as he was far enough away from the big den. Soon he came to another tunnel, and with a quick sniff, he knew that it was inhabited by females, and he darted down it.

He entered a den about the size of his own back in the forest. There was a large amount of wolves, Frah thought roughly 20, living in here. The females all turned at once as Frah entered through the tunnel, their faces masks of disbelief.

"Frah!" exclaimed Akita, rushing forward to press her face into her mate's neck. How did you escape? Why are you here?" Frah breathed in Akita's warm scent, a peaceful sensation dulling his senses.

"I'll explain everything later," he said as he reluctantly pulled away from her. "I need everyone to follow me now!"

"I don't think so," said a cold, mocking voice. Frah froze as the look on Akita's face turned to that of pure agony, and then he turned to meet the cruel green eyes of Faldorn.


	12. Chapter 12

Frah could hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming down one of the tunnels, and Romulus raced in.

"Frah! The other wolves have come b-" the black and brown wolf froze in the entrance of the den, his mismatched eyes wide as he saw Faldorn.

"Akita, take the others and go outside to help with the fighting," Frah said quietly to his mate, not taking his eyes off of Faldorn. "That is, if you think you're well enough." "Me?" Akita whispered, a growl rumbling in her throat. "I'm as strong as I'll ever be." She turned and led the others to the back entrance, before turning to look at Frah and Romulus.

"Please be careful," she said, before shooting one last defiant snarl at Faldorn. She raised her tail and leapt out of the tunnel.

"You dare give orders to my harem?" growled Faldorn. Frah snarled and raised his chin challengingly.

"They are not your harem," he rebuked, his hackles raised menacingly. "Akita is my mate, and I'll kill you for ever touching a hair on her pelt!"

"I'll kill you easily," Faldorn snarled, and Frah knew that he might speak the truth. He suddenly remembered the unnatural strength of those cold jaws closing around his torso, and fear rose like bile in his throat.

"Not if I fight as well," growled Romulus, stepping around Faldorn to stand next to Frah, his tail raised proudly.

"So the traitor and the rebel will die at eachother's sides," sneered Faldorn mockingly. "How touching."

"I would not doubt your words," replied Romulus, catching Frah by surprise. "But not tonight. Tonight the bastard will be the only one dead!"

"Fools!" snarled Faldorn, his eyes rolling in fury. "You will pay for your treachory!" And with that he threw himself at the two smaller wolves, his jaws wide as a snarl erupted from his throat.

Frah barely had time to react before Faldorn's slavering jaws closed on his shoulder; he had ducked to the side at the last moment to avoid Faldorn closing in on his neck.

Frah yelped as the huge wolf tore at his shoulder with his cruel teeth. He struggled to bite anything on Faldorn's body, but he couldn't seem to get a grip. With a jolt, he realized that his week spent as a prisoner had softened his muscles and weakened him greatly.

Romulus came out of nowhere and bowled into Faldorn's side with enough force to knock a buffalo off of it's feet. Faldorn's teeth tore Frah's flesh as he was thrown across the den, the wind knocked out of his lungs.

"You okay?" Romulus asked, panting and bleeding from his shoulder where he had rammed into Faldorn.

"Nn," grunted Frah, struggling to his feet. Blood trickled down his right shoulder, hot and sticky, but he ignored the pain and turned to see Faldorn's next attack. The big wolf snarled as he grabbed Romulus's scruff and pulled him down under him as he rolled. Frah heard Romulus yip as the gray wolf crushed him with his immense wieght. Frah growled and threw himself ontop of Faldorn, sinking his teeth into the back of his neck. Faldorn cried out and rolled off of Romulus, turning his head to snap at Frah. The brown wolf held fast, ripping and tearing at Faldorn's neck, but suddenly the gray wolf got a hold of one of Frah's front paws and flung him across his body. Frah gasped as he hit the den wall and his breath left him. He sunk down into a limp heap, struggling to catch his breath. The world spun around him as his vision swam, but he held on to his conciousness with what little energy he had left.

Faldorn laughed cruelly as Romulus rushed at him from the side, his jaws open wide as he leapt at Faldorn's throat.

Crunch! Frah flinched as the eerily familiar scene unfolded before his eyes. Faldorn's head whipped around, and with unnatural speed, his jaws snapped shut on Romulus's torso.

"Aaugh!" Romulus cried out as a sickening series of cracking sounds told Frah that Faldorn was deliberately breaking Romulus's ribs. The dark wolf screamed in pain as Faldorn shook him, and bile rose in Frah's throat as he heard more snapping sounds.

Faldorn released Romulus, who hit the den wall opposite of Frah. He shrieked as he collided with the hard-packed dirt, contorting his body into an unnatural position, his eyes bulging and blood dripping from his mouth as he slowly slid down and lay in the dirt. Faldorn laughed cruely, his cold green eyes flashing as he swung his head back and forth in what looked to Frah like insanity.

"This is what happens when you disobey me!" he cried, his eyes unnaturally wide. "Once you're dead, I will go out and kill every one of your loved once! You can do nothing! I am the strongest wolf in the country, and none shall oppose me!" He sauntered over to where Frah lay crumpled in the dirt, and leaned his head over him.

"What do you have to say for yourself, Frah?" he hissed, his maw drawn up in a sickening grin.

"Strong you may be, but you're just a wolf," Frah whispered. Faldorn raised a brow and sneered, leaning closer to Frah. With one sharp bite, he drew blood from the already raw wound on Frah's shoulder. Frah cried out in pain, but he wouldn't let himself meet the darkness that called out to him with such comforting clarity. Across the den, Frah saw Romulus's black pelt rise and fall. He was breathing.

"What was that again?" sneered Faldorn. His fangs, glimmering and white, were bared to the brown wolf, and Frah knew that the next time he was injured by those cruel teeth, he could die.

Suddenly, Frah realized that the words he had spoken were very true indeed; Faldorn was just a wolf, big and muscular though he was, and he had the same weaknesses as Frah, as Romulus, as anybody else had. Frah took a rustling breath. He could taste coppery blood welling into his mouth.

"I said," began Frah, with a careful slowness. "You're just a big, dumb, mortal wolf." And although his muscles and bones ached and burned in protest, Frah leapt to his feet and launched himself at Faldorn. The big wolf was caught off guard and didn't have time to react; Frah crashed into him with all the power in his body, bringing his steel fangs down on the enemy's soft throat.


	13. Chapter 13

It lasted only a few seconds, but seemed like a lifetime. They flew across the den, propelled by Frah's rush of adrenaline. Frah felt his teeth hit their mark; he bit down and felt the satisfying pop of teeth breaking skin, tasted the coppery blood flow into his mouth...

Faldorn knew that he had been defeated. For the last few moments before he sunk into the darkness, his mind cleared and he saw his mother, beatiful and loving, the mother that he had missed so much. He realized that he had served his purpose long ago when he killed the bear who had ended her life, and he was peaceful as his last moments passed. He would see his mother, the one who protected him from his father's merciless abuse, the one who licked clean his wounds and dried his tears, the only one who loved and cared for him, and the only one he had ever felt love for in return.

He felt his body collide with the floor, broken and numb, felt his life force slowly ebbing away as the rich crimson blood welled in his throat. He felt no pain, and heard nothing but a sweet voice calling to him.

"Come to me Faldorn," said the voice. "For it is your mother, Kira! Come to me and be free of your life!"

"Kira..." breathed Faldorn, closing his eyes, and in the moment before the darkness consumed him he heard her kind laugh, and he silently thanked Frah for ending his life here on earth.

Frah stepped back, panting, his chest and muzzle drenched in steaming blood. His vision blurred and pulsed in front of him, and he fell back on his rump, shaking his head to clear the dizziness. For a long moment, he stared at his slain enemy, marveling at how normal and harmless he now seemed. He looked like a wolf with a long and trying life.

Frah stood when he felt he was strong enough, and though his legs quaked and shook and his shoulder ached, he slowly limped over to Romulus's crippled form.

The big wolf's flank was slowly rising and falling, but Frah knew it wouldn't take much for his life to end. He gingerly nosed his friend's muzzle, whining. Romulus slowly opened one eye, and when he spoke, his voice was weak.

"Frah?" he rasped, his eye flickering to meet Frah's. "Is that you?"

"Yes Romulus," Frah replied solemnly. "Faldorn is dead." Romulus closed his eyes and managed a weak smile.

"Yaaay," he sang in his rasping voice. Frah snorted despite himself and shook his head.

"I'm not going to die," said Romulus reproachfully. "Cheer up!"

"How will you walk?" asked Frah, his tail twitching in anxiety.

"I won't," Romulus replied. "You'll carry me." Frah chuckled, but he knew he wouldn't be able to.

"I can't," he said. "I couldn't support you...me shoulder..." Romulus turned his head painfully to gaze at Frah's wounded shoulder.

"Ah..." he sighed. "Well then, leave me here until somebody can come to help. I'll be fine." Frah hesitated, knowing that Romulus could easily slip into a fatal sleep or be attacked by guards in his absense, but he trusted the black wolf would not give up so easily.

"I'll be back soon," he promised, backing away from Romulus's broken form. It suddenly occured to him that the others would not yet know of Faldorn's death, and would still be fighting. Frah suppressed a horrid thought- what if he did not make it in time?

Frah limped over to Faldorn's lifeless body and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. He was a dead wieght, and the muscles in Frah's shoulder strained and screamed in protest, but Frah managed to drag the big wolf out into one of the tunnels.

Every step was agony, but Frah pressed on, until he saw moonlight and realized that he had reached the top of the anthill. He dragged Faldorn out into the night air, and watched in horror the battle taking place before him. Everywhere wolves were snarling and fighting, but Frah could not make them out from so high up.

"Stop!" he howled, and his voice echoed throughout the clearing. Everything was suddenly silent, as all wolves below turned to gaze in awe at Frah.

"Faldorn is dead!" Frah went on, and he heard general murmurings of disbelief. Several guards, led by Kaden, had assembled at the base of the anthill, and were staring up at him with mixed hatred and spurning. "I have him here!" Frah dragged Faldorn's body to the top of the hill and slowly rolled him down to the base where Kaden stood, his face twisted in disgust. The image of Faldorn, bent and broken, sliding down the dusty hill saddened Frah, for he found it slightly disrespectful. Faldorn had been a formidable apponent, but now he needed to prove his victory.

The officers stared down at their crumpled leader, and then Kaden raised his face to Frah, his tail high.

"I'll kill you," he growled, his hackles raising in rage.

"You are outnumbered!" called a voice, and Frah realized that it belonged to Rowan. "The rebels are still strong!" There was a loud roar of cheers from Rowan and Frah's supporters, and Kaden's eyes flickered anxiously.

"We will leave," growled Frah. "And we will take our wounded with us." Kaden snarled, but said,

"Fine. You will leave. But mark my words Frah, this war is not over yet. Not while I am alpha." He signaled with his tail and led the rest of the enraged officers away into the forest. Frah clambered down the hill and met his pack. Akita nuzzled him and said. "I'm glad you're safe." Frah touched his nose to hers and was glad that she was safe as well.

"You defeated him!" trilled Sascha, her eyes dancing. Frah noticed that she and Rowan stood pressed together, and he could not suppress a smile.

"Where is Romulus?" asked Trekka suddenly, her eyes wide and searching. Frah met her gaze evenly, and then motioned to the others.

"Follow me."

Frah led his family down the long and twisting tunnels, until finally they came to where Romulus was resting.

"There you are," he called as they approached, and Frah was glad to see he was now able to lift his head. "I heard cheering and thought they had carried you away through the crowd."

"You're hurt!" gasped Trekka, rushing forward to inspect his wounds.

"Did you break anything vital?" asked Akita apprehensively. "Your legs? Your hip?"

"I think only some ribs," Romulus replied. "I'll be fine."

"How will we take him with us?" asked Rowan. Romulus scowled and attempted to stand. Suddenly he sucked in a breath of air and hissed, his teeth gritted in pain, and lowered himself back down to the floor.

"There goes my chance of proving myself," he said good-naturedly, grimacing as he settled his body back down.

"We'll have to carry him," said Akita. "I'm not leaving him behind."

"Who says they were going to leave me behind?" growled Romulus, a hint of incredulousness in his voice.

"I'll help," Mekko volunteered, coming forward to duck under one of Romulus's front legs. "It won't be comfortable for you, but when we get outside somebody bigger than me will have to take over."

"I'll help as well," growled Rowan, coming to duck under Romulus's other leg. Together the two of them lifted Romulus onto their backs.

"Good," said Frah. "Let's go figure out what to do next."

The band of wolves made their way slowly up the tunnel until they reached the entrace. Heshin came forward to take Romulus from Rowan and Mekko, flinching as Romulus growled in pain.

"Everybody!" Frah turned and called to the others. "We are free!" There was a thunderous response-the clearing-full of wolves howled in their joy and relief.

"Come, we must go now," said Frah. "Before Kaden comes back."

"What of the plan?" called Heshin. "What do we do now?"

"We'll discuss those matters on our journey," replied Akita. "Everyone, let us run and be free!" Howls broke out amoung the wolves as they turned to run joyfully into the forest. They ran on and on, rejoicing with their long lost freedom as they howled to the sky. When they tired, they slowed to a walk, and Heshin was able to catch up with Romulus in tow.

Trekka gazed at the wolves around her; once strangers, they were now like family. She had a feeling in her gut that this was how life would be from now on, happy and filled with the wolves she loved and cared for.

"It feels so wonderful to be free again!" sighed Sascha, who matched her pace with Trekka's, Rowan at her side.

"I wonder what we should do now?" the gray and white wolf wondered out loud. She knew that they couldn't keep walking forever, and that soon they would have to settle down and deal with Kaden once again. Before she could answer the question herself, somebody else did for her.

"Let's get something to eat," replied Romulus, his ears pricked in Trekka's direction as he licked his chops in good nature. "I'm starving."

Part 2

It has been months since Frah and the rebels defeated Faldorn and started their journey to a new home. All is peaceful, but Frah remembers Kadens threat to his pack. So far, every couple of weeks or so there have been attacks on scouting patrols, but nothing big has happened so far.


	14. Chapter 14

A small group of five wolves loped steadily through the dark forest, their ears pricked as they listened for any tiny disturbances. Their breath was like smoke in the chilly air; it fogged out from around their maws and coiled into the dark sky. They had been out since the early evening, and now thier pace was weakening.

"Arien, can we go back now?" whined one of the wolves, a mousy brown female. "We've skirted our portion of the territory twice, and it's too late!" The other three wolves agreed with the first female, their tails drooping in exhaustion. The tawny colored wolf at the head of the pack turned his head, his icy blue eyes narrowed in exasperation.

"No, Shiya," he growled. "You heard what Frah said. It's been two weeks since the last attack, and we know now that they've been following a pattern. We amp up the patrols until the threat has passed. Now stop your whining!" Shiya sighed and continued her slow jog after Arien and the rest of the group. Her pale green eyes wandered; she watched the trees and bushes around her for any signs of movement. The leaves had long turned to brown; winter was rapidly approaching, and the female wolf could feel a chill settling over the place.

Suddenly, she heard a tiny rustling to her right, and she turned her head to peer into the brush. For a moment she could not find anything out of the ordinary, but her eyes focused and she narrowed in on something; three pairs of golden wolf eyes glistening in the trees.

The moment she saw them, the bodies the eyes belonged to sprang out of the bushes. There were seven of them, and they quickly overtook the patrol. Caught off-guard and frightened by the sudden attack, Shiya had no time to react before the first wolf closed his cruel jaws on her throat, his chest rumbling in a growl.

Shiya cried out in pain and fell, struggling for breath. The wolf holding her pressed harder, and soon her vision blurred and the world folded in on her.

"Bastards!" screamed Arien. He was a smaller wolf, but the ferocity of his attacks were enough to match even this troupe of burly guards. He and his scouts fought madly, and soon they drove the attack party back out of their territory.

"Shit.." hissed Arien as they turned back to collect Shiya. "Will they ever leave us alone?"

"This is the first time they've killed..." replied one of his subordinates. "Do you think they're trying to frighten us into submission?"

"Whatever they're trying to do won't work," growled the tawny wolf. "It's just a damn shame that we lost a good wolf tonight." They had reached the place where Shiya had fallen, and now Arien lowered himself to the ground and scooped her lifeless body onto his broad shoulders.

"Come," he ordered. "We'll need to report this to Frah."

Frah stretched each of his legs in turn as he led his patrol back to their make-shift camp. It had been months since they had arrived in their new home, and so far Kaden had done nothing but send small patrols to attack them. Frah didn't know what Kaden was playing at, but the idea that there could be another attack just around the corner made the brown wolf uneasy. So far none of the other patrol groups had reported anything out of the ordinary tonight, but he knew they could have gotten held up if they ran into any trouble.

Frah raised his head in the direction of the forest as he heard the sounds of a patrol approaching. He came forward to meet them, and lowered his head in dismay as he saw the broken body of a she-wolf draped over Arien's shoulders.

"You met trouble," he said emotionlessly. Arien dipped his head, his face weary.

"Yes," he replied. "We were ambushed. We didn't see them coming until it was too late." Frah was silent for a moment.

"What was her name?" he asked.

"Shiya, sir." Frah raised his heads to the heavens and spoke quietly.

"Shiya," he murmured. "May your spirit be recieved kindly, and may you find peace and happiness, wherever you are." The rest of the wolves in the clearing acknowledged Frah's words by raising their faces to the sky. It was usually customary to howl and sing for the dead one, but Frah knew they needed to be careful not to alert Kaden's officers, if they were still in the area.

When they had finished with their bout of silence, Frah looked to the ground, his ears twitching thoughtfully.

"This needs to stop," he said, more to himself than to Arien or anyone else. "We need to know what they're up to...Rowan!" he called out. His son perked his ears from where he sat somewhere behind Frah.

"Yeah?" the sandy brown wolf stood and shook his pelt. He had grown very much in the past few months; he was about Frah's size now.

"Go to Mekko's camp and bring him back here," Frah adressed him. "I need to ask a favor of him." Rowan nodded and turned to race into the surrounding trees.

"Is it wise to send a wolf into the forest alone after an attack?" questioned Arien, his eyes narrowed. Frah merely grunted in response and curled up facing the direction Rowan had gone in to await his return, for he was in an ill mood. He hadn't seen his mate or daughter in ages, as Akita was leading a patrol group all the way on the other side of the territory, and Trekka was at the main base camp with Sascha, helping the blind wolf, Mikash, tend to her three rambunctious pups. He sorely wished he could see them both again soon.

Mekko greedily gnawed at a dry bone away from the rest of his patrol. They were too serious for his liking, and Mekko felt as if he would go insane with boredom if he was trapped with this scouting party for much longer.

The big gray wolf finally cracked the bone he had been working at, grinning in silent satisfaction as he stripped out the spongy marrow. He was interupted, however, by the sight of Rowan coming through the trees toward him.

"Mekko," the brown wolf greeted, dipping his head politely.

"'lo," Mekko replied without looking up. He continued gnawing at the bone until it split in two. Saliva dripped out of his open mouth as he greedily chewed at the severed half, gnashing the bone with his strong jaws. Rowan wrinkled his nose in distaste as he watched.

"You're disgusting," he commented dryly.

"So're you,"

"Frah wants you."

"Oh does he now?"

"You need to come with-"

"I'm eating."

"Oh please be serious!" growled Rowan in exhasperation. "Arien's group was attacked tonight and a she-wolf is dead. Frah has something he needs you to do for him." Mekko finally raised his head at the mention of the dead she-wolf, and his hackles raised in a snarl.

"Those bastards..." he grumbled, dropping the bone to scramble to his feet. "Oi! One of you guys take over for me while I'm gone, right?" There was a scattered reply of lazy "rights" and "sures", and when Mekko seemed satisfied with the response he turned to Rowan and followed him through the forest at a brisk jog.

"Lazy good-for-nothing Frah," Mekko mumbled half to himself as they ran. "Can't even come an' get me himself..."

Frah stood as Rowan and Mekko entered the clearing, his face solemn. He saw Mekko's blue eyes flicker momentarily to the dead she-wolf, who was layed out in a patch of moonlight, her body limp and broken.

"You wanted to see me," the gray wolf said, gazing evenly at his alpha.

"Yes," replied Frah, and then he launched into his plan. "This may seem like alot to ask of you, but I don't think we could handle waiting much longer. Mekko, you will travel back to Kaden's camp and infiltrate it, posing as a guard under the name-" he paused, cocking his head and looking up thoughtfully. "-Nero. Your mission is to find out what Kaden is up to, and report back here to me. Do you accept?" He raised his brow questioningly, as if daring Mekko to say no.

The gray wolf felt the wind stir his fur and he thought of adventure, and how he still ached for it. His tail raised.

"Of course," he replied, his tongue lolling. Finally, he would leave the boringness of his scouting group and be free!


	15. Chapter 15

"Gah, I don't think I'll ever get used to how loud it is here," complained Sascha, laying her head on the ground and covering her muzzle with her paws. Next to her, Mikash laughed.

"You'll have to, if you want pups of your own someday," she remarked kindly, her blind eyes gazing out to where her three young pups tusseled with eachother noisily. "Sometimes I wish I was deaf instead of blind!" Sascha chuckled and rolled onto her back to warm her belly. Immediately all three pups raced towards her and took advantage of Sascha's vulnerable position.

"It's Faldorn!" cried one of them, the only male. "Kill him!" Sascha growled good-naturedly as the three tiny wolves attacked her, their sharp puppy-teeth like needles in her fur.

"Zabi, you and your sisters leave poor Sascha alone now," Mikash said warmly. The little male reluctantly loosened his grip on Sascha's ear and bounded off with his sisters, their laughter echoing throughout the rebel camp. Close by, other wolves laughed and talked, and Mikash knew that her young ones would be looked after wherever they went.

"Thanks," grinned Sascha, getting to her feet and shaking dust off of her sleek black coat. "Gosh, it seems like just yesterday when I was like them."

"Young wolves grow fast," Mikash replied, smiling. There was a small silence, and then the light gray body of Trekka stepped out of the den behind the two females.

"If I ever saw a wolf eat so much!" she grumbled in exhasperation. "Romulus just devoured four rabbits in about two seconds!"

"It's not that much!" called a voice from inside the dark den. Trekka turned and yelled back at him.

"Yes, but you've already eaten five this morning!" There was silence on Romulus' end.

Sascha chuckled as Trekka rolled her eyes and slumpt down in the dirt.

"He's unbelievable!" she murmured in disbelief.

"Yes, but you like him," teased Sascha, earning a glare from the gray female. "Come on, don't even deny it! When are you two going to get together, anyways?"

"I don't know," Trekka snapped irritably, laying her ears back.

"Oh, stop pestering her," said Mikash, standing to stretch her legs. "I believe today's the day the wolves in the scout-groups are exchanged- let's go see if it's anyone we know."

With the reliance of knowing her pups would always be well cared for in camp, Mikash leapt forward playfully, following Sascha and Trekka as they made their way to the main clearing, where the rebels gathered as the returning scouts made their way back into camp. As they entered the clearing, a wave of grief from the surrounding wolves swept over them, and in a moment, they knew that something was wrong. They shouldered past the outside wolves to stand in the group, feeling cold prickling their fur. The others around them stood stock-still, their tails lowered.

"Shya!" a male voice was crying. "Oh Shiya, please! No, no, no..."

Concerned, the three she-wolves inched forward until they saw what all the commotion was about. A cirlcle had broken in the center of the wolves, and a mousy brown she-wolf was laying, limp and broken, in the center of it. Above her, her mate wept. Sascha turned away, sighing, and Trekka watched with a stony look in her blue eyes.

"Someone has died..." Mikash murmured solemnly. Nobody answered her, for it was not a question.

"Arien's group was attacked by our eastern border," Rowan stood a little ways away from the dead she-wolf, his head lowered as he addressed her mate. "They did all they could, but it just wasn't enough."

Sascha's tail lifted momentarily as she heard her mate's voice, but she realized she was being disrespectful, and let it hang by her feet once again. The death of a comrade, close or not, was always a tradgedy to a pack.

She noticed Mekko standing behind Rowan, his face grave. He stepped forward to take the place of his nephew, and raised his chin.

"Kaden will pay for his treachory," he growled, adressing the whole pack. "Tomorrow I will leave on a scouting mission to Kaden's pack to become an officer. Our plan is to figure out what he is playing at, and end it." He bared his teeth, his eyes glinting. "He can attack us all he wants, but killing a wolf without the heat of battle is going too far." There was an uproarious cry from the assembled wolves. Sascha heard Trekka gasp beside her, and then groan.

"What?" she asked. "Do you not think it's a good plan?"

"Why him?" Trekka murmured, her face screwed up. "He's so dumb, he won't last an hour!" Sascha was just about to reply when Mikash cut in.

"Yes, but Frah trusts him," she soothed. "Besides, Mekko seems like a guard type, doesn't he?"

"Looks it too," agreed Sascha. Trekka sighed.

Sascha picked out Rowan from the crowd; he was coming toward her. She barked in delight and pranced forward to meet him, her tail curled in the air. He nuzzled her neck as she reached him, and then stepped back to meet her eyes.

"I missed you," he said, a smile coming to his face. How her eyes sparkled and danced as the light reached them! He knew he loved her more and more every time he met her golden eyes. She laughed and then pressed her head into his neck, her eyes closed in happiness.

"I missed you too," he heard her muffled murmur. She pulled away from him, and her face was concerned.

"Why were you sent back?" she asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No," chuckled Rowan, pressing his forehead to hers reassuringly. "I'm just on a break, right?"

"Right..." murmured Sascha, closing her eyes and breathing in Rowan's scent.

"Mikash," called a female voice; Palli, Heshin's mate, was approaching the ginger wolf. "I heard you had your pups while I was away!"

"Oh yes," Mikash smiled proudly. "Would you like to come see them?"

"Of course," replied Palli. "Lead the way!" Rowan turned to follow the she-wolves, running his tail along Sascha's back as she began to follow him; he wanted to see Mikash's new pups as well! The group of wolves padded leisurely back to the large den that housed most of Rowan's family and friends. As they approached the scrape, Rowan heard Romulus' deep voice from inside.

"...and so then Faldorn pinned Frah to the ground, and he woulda finished him off if I hadn't been there to save him-"

"Poor pups, he's feeding them false stories again," Trekka apologized to Mikash, her eyebrows creased. "I hope he doesn't scare them." Since arriving at the new territory, Trekka had taken Romulus on as a chore, and it now seemed almost as if she were his mother.

"Don't worry about it," replied Mikash, cocking her head to one side. "I don't even think they believe him." They squeezed into the tunnel one-by-one, pushing into the large den that lay beyond. It was dark inside, but the small amount of light that filtered through the opening tunnel was enough for the keen-eyed wolves to see clearly.

"Pups, come and meet two new friends," called Mikash. Romulus was stretched out in a corner, apparently finished with his story. Mikash's three pups, a white male and two reddish-colored females were playing with his tail as he flicked it side-to-side lazily.

At their mother's call they came running, skidding to a stop at their mother's feet to stare at Rowan and Palli with wide eyes.

Palli's golden eyes grew soft as she leaned down to look at the pups. Rowan could see that they were cute, but they did not affect him like they did the other females. Sascha caught his eye from where she stood next to Trekka and whined longingly, her tail wagging as she placed her paws restlessly. More than anything, the black she-wolf wanted pups of her own.

"Any news?" Romulus asked from where he lay in the corner, propped up by his front legs. He grimaced in pain as he turned to face the group. His ribs were almost healed, but he still could barely walk.

"The worst," replied Palli. "Kaden attacked again. A she-wolf is dead." Romulus' mismatched eyes widened and then he sighed.

"Bastard..." he mumbled. "When will it stop?"

"Mekko's going on a scouting mission to Kaden's pack," Rowan replied. "He hopes to find out what's going on so we can end it for good."

"He's going to Kaden's pack?" Romulus asked. Rowan nodded. Romulus sighed and turned away from the group.

"Lucky..." he grumbled.


	16. Chapter 16

Mekko left camp before the sun was all the way up that morning. Swirls of mist hung eerily a foot above the ground, and the dew-spotted grass wet his black paws, irritating him greatly. The big gray wolf padded along solemnly for a long while, and when the warm morning sun warmed his wet paws, he became cheerful and set off at a brisk jog.

Up ahead on the path he followed, he spied a brown rabbit lazing about for bits of grass. Licking his chops, Mekko slowed his pace and crept forward.

"Stay right there..." he murmured to himself, preparing for the attack.

"Ah-hah!" cried a voice, and a gray she-wolf sailed through the air in front of Mekko and landed on the dazed rabbit. Mekko growled angrily as he lifted his tail. Who did this wolf think she was, stealing his prey like this?

The gray wolf lifted her head, the limp rabbit clamped in her jaws, and caught sight of Mekko.

"Akita..." Mekko growled. Akita's blue eyes gleamed as she recognized her brother.

"Mekko," she greeted, her tail lifting. "Long time no see!"

"I've missed you," Mekko admitted. "What are you doing away from your patrol?"

"Hunting," smirked Akita. "I never get time for myself thse days. So what is this I've heard abouta scouting mission, brother?"

"Leaving right now for Kaden's camp," growled the gray wolf in reply. "Don't know when I'll be back." Akita nodded, and then lay down her rabbit and nosed it in Mekko's direction.

"Here," she said softly, smiling up at her brother. "You'll need it more than I do." Mekko stood stationary for a moment, reluctant to accept charity from another wolf, but then politely reached down to grab it in his teeth.

"Thanks," he growled through the fur.

"Don't worry about it," Akita replied, flicking her ears dismissively. "I've gotta get back to my patrol. Good luck Mekko, and... please be careful?" Mekko nodded to her as she turned and dashed back into the trees.

Mekko devoured the measly kill in two gulps, and continued on his way. By afternoon he had left familiar territory, and was now traveling close to the Hell Mountains. He climbed to a small ridge so he could see over the treetops. Still no sign of Kaden's pack. Mekko hadn't smelt another wolf for hours.

His stomach rumbling again, Mekko decided to break here for a while to hunt and rest up. He heard some birds pecking at the rock a couple feet above where he sat, and he hastily scrambled up the rock wall, careful not to lose grip on the rough surface. He pulled himself onto the ledge-and came face to face with a bear.

The bear had been feasting on some grasses that grew on the ledge, but suddenly it noticed the wolf and growled threateningly. Mekko hurriedly leapt out of the way, his fur on end. A snarl erupted in his throat as the bear came at him, it's muzzle pulled back in an ugly grimace. He was going into hybernation soon, and could not be bothered by pests who aimed to steal his meals.

Mekko snarled and leapt at the bear, closing his jaws and tearing viciously at the nape of it's neck. The angry bear swatted him off easily, as if he were a pesky fly. Mekko landed hard on the rock and skidded over the edge, his snarl ending in a high pitched yelp of terror as his feet left solid ground and he plummeted ten feet to the ledge below.

Feeling very well as if he would never move again and struggling to regain his knocked-out breath, Mekko coughed and attempted to pull himself to his feet. He raised his head, his eyes half lidded, and howled in pain as a huge, heavy paw caught him in the face. He flew across the ledge as the jarring impact of the bear's paw racked his body. He hit the ground hard and tumbled precariously close to the edge, feeling his hind paws began to slip and scrape against the smooth rocks that veered sharply into open air.

He recovered quickly and struggled to stand, growling fiercly. The bear was coming toward him once again, it's lips curled back angrily. Mekko sidestepped as it approached, but the bear reached out and cuffed him around the neck, scooping the gray wolf under his heavy chest. Mekko protested weakly, but he knew that once a wolf was trapped, the battle was virtually lost.

He called out in vain; he knew that there was nobody to answer his calls. The bear's slavering jaws dripped saliva onto Mekko's face, and the gray wolf could feel the hot breath coming within inches of his fur. Mekko screwed his muzzle up involuntarily to wait for the pain that was soon to come. Forgive me, Frah.

But instead of pain, there was a fierce battle cry, and he felt the bear tense on top of him. He opened his eyes as several more cries sounded. The bear roared, obviously distracted, and Mekko wiggled out of his grasp and gasped as he realized what was happening.

Four wolves, obviously female despite their muscular builds, had leapt from the cliff and where fighting fiercly, darting to-and-fro around the confused bear so fast that they seemed to be a blur. They fought so fiercely, Mekko reckoned that one of them would be more than a match for Frah himself.

One of the females, a wolf of a strange golden-colored coat and an odd fringe of fur atop her head howled in joy and launched herself at the bear's throat. The others also howled and cried out as they attacked the bear. Mekko had never seen this sort of joy of fighting in a wolf before, especially in females. He lay panting and watching from where he had fallen, great interest in his blue eyes.

He tried to stand, thinking he should help, but one of the females, who was brown and white, knocked him to the ground, a snarl on her lips. Mekko growled back and slunk away from her to watch broodingly.

Soon the bear had enough; it backed from the wolves and turned to lumber away. The four females stood panting for a moment, and then turned one by one to look at Mekko, who bared his fangs under their stares.

One of the wolves, a dark blue-ish gray, laughed mockingly.

"Why don't you thank us for saving your life, weakling?" she taunted, her green eyes gleaming. Mekko growled; the strange females were poking fun at him on purpose.

"I didn't need your help," he growled, glaring at the female and then turning to lick his chest. Apparently he had said the wrong thing. The four wolves burst into racious laughter, their eyes gleaming meanly.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you coud have handled it all by yourself!" said the golden female in a loud, sarcastic whine. "Such a big, strong male you are! Why would you ever need help from a weak little girl like me?" The wolves laughed again, and Mekko growled angrily, his ears growing hot in humiliation.

"So tell me, wolf," growled the brown and white female who had shouldered Mekko earlier. "What was your plan? Run the bear to death?" The females erupted into laughter again.

"I don't need this..." grumbled Mekko to himself, standing to limp away.

"Where are you going?" asked one of the females, a white one that seemed to be younger than the rest. She tipped her head earnestly, interest in her green eyes.

"I'm on a scouting mission," growled Mekko over his shoulder.

"What for?" asked the blue-gray wolf. Mekko turned and growled; all four of them had begun to follow him, their expressions curious. Mekko's hackles raised momentarily, but as he stared into each of their identicle green eyes, he felt his anger melt away and he sighed.

"Come with me, if you'd like," he said, meeting the eyes of the golden female. "It's a long story, but...you did help me." The gray and the white female's tongues lolled excitedly and they glanced at each-other. The gold wolf raised her proud head.

"What is your name, travelor?" she asked in her strange voice.

"Mekko," the gray male replied. The gold female turned back to her pack, and as she said their names she nodded to each in turn.

"These are my sisters, Valeri-" the young white wolf. "Shiela-" the brown and white. "Sunami-" the bluish gray. She looked to Mekko, her bright green eyes piercing. "And I am Nikaya.


	17. Chapter 17

The woods were silent as death as the two she-wolves crossed through them, gray and white, their golden eyes glinting in the dark forest.

"Where are they, Ditawny?" simpered one of them, as she fluffed her white coat against the cold. She stepped lightly on dainty paws, taking great care as not to trod on a branch or a sharp rock.

"Hush, Nalaeni," Ditawny hissed sharply at her younger sister, her teeth bared. Her black ears twitched and she turned back to the forest beyond her, letting the wind whip her strange coat; black with pale gray edges that touched the white fur of her chest and belly. Her golden eyes flashed in the darkness, and then she spoke again, her tone casual.

"We crossed their border a few minutes ago, sister," she went on, her eyes gleaming. "We should meet a patrol soon enough."

"Everything seems to be quiet tonight," the white wolf commented as the patrol loped through the silent forest. Frah turned to the speaker, his eyes gleaming.

"Yes Heshin, but we can't let our guard down," he replied. He turned back to the dark forest. "It could just be a trick." The group fell silent as they trecked on. Suddenly, one of their group paused and perked her ears.

"Shhh, did you hear that?" she asked, her voice hushed. Frah pricked his ears.

"Is anyone there?" he called after a moment of silence.

"Oh! Yes, there is someone here," replied a voice from the trees. It was simpering and beautiful, and made Frah's fur stand on end. Side-by-side, two of the most beautiful she-wolves Frah had ever laid his eyes upon stepped daintily through the trees. The bigger of the two was gray, black, and white, and had an unusual coat. The other was pure white, not a single gray hair on her whole pelt. Both had sparkling golden eyes that gleamed as looked to Frah, smiles on their small muzzles.

"I'm Ditawny," continued the speaker. "And this is my sister, Nalaeni. We wish to join this 'pack'." Frah unlatched his eyes from the newcomers for a moment to glance back at his scouting group. Most had their tails raised and were wagging them excitedly, their tongues lolling. The lone female in the group stood to the side, looking obviously uncomfortable. Ditawny and Nalaeni smiled shyly at each of them in turn, their golden eyes narrowed amorously. Frah attempted to speak, but found he had lost his voice. Clearing his voice, he tried again.

"Have you been traveling long?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice calm. The two she-wolves eyes gleamed.

"Oh yes, we come from far away," replied Nalaeni eagerly. She tilted her head towards the vast mountains that lay in the distance, sillohuetted against the pale winter moon. "Over those mountains?"

"We heard of Faldorn when we arrived in the area, and knew we'd need some help if we got into trouble," continued Ditawny. "So what else to do then join a pack of strong, fighting males?" She stepped forward and walked around Heshin in a tight circle, observing him as if he were a piece of meat. Heshin gulped and looked very uncomfortable. Ditawny paused in front of Frah and lowered her eyes.

"So, wolf, I wait for an answer," her eyes flickered upwards to his, like big golden moons. Frah didn't know how he could say no to those eyes.

"Alright," he agreed, glancing away from her piercing gaze. "Come on, let's go back to camp." Ditawny smiled lazily.

"We are forever in your debt, wolf," Nalaeni murmured, coming forward to stand beside her sister. "What may we call you?"

"My name is Frah," the brown alpha replied. Nalaeni turned, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, Frah," she simpered. "Why don't you and the others show us back to camp?"

Mekko paused as he reached the edge of the forest, and raised his face to sniff the fridgid air. He knew this place; he realized it with a jolt; back in the last year's spring, it seemed so long ago now, Frah and Romulus had led the pack past here. Mekko lowered his head to the ground, his blue eyes searching. He was suddenly overcome with nostalga, and he was glad Nikaya and her pack had stopped a while back to hunt while he went on alone. There, seemingly frozen inot the hardened ground, was a small paw-print. With a quick sniff, he learned from the faintest scents that it belonged to Trekka. Next to it he found a set that belonged to Rowan, and he almost laughed for how small it seemed in comparison to the strong wolf he knew now.

The big gray wolf raised his head and looked around. Perking his ears, he padded towards the raised lump of earth that marked the resting place of a brave wolf who had once fought a brutal mountain lion at his side. Mekko couldn't even remember his name, but still, he sat and lowered his head for the fallen wolf. How many nameless soldiers had Faldorn willingly killed in his quest for power? The gray wolf realized that this was the difference between good and evil, between Frah and Faldorn, or now Kaden. Ignorance and greed had driven Faldorn to his end.

Mekko raised his muzzle and felt the tickle of cold wetness prick the tip of his nose; it was beginning to snow. The random flakes slowly became a flurry of swirling white crystals, billowing and dancing in the cold gray air until they settled to the earth like fallen leaves in autumn.

Mekko turned as he heard Nikaya approach; she and her sisters were coming through the rising storm with a rabbit in each maw. Mekko lifted his head in greeting as they came toward him.

"What are you doing here?" asked Nikaya. She droppped the rabbit at her feet. A cold burst of wind whipped through her fur, and Mekko realized for the first time how pretty she was. Her green eyes searched him as she waited. "It's freezing!"

"This is the grave of someone I knew once," Mekko replied. "I hadn't realized that we were passing so close to my old territory..."

"Oh," said Nikaya, her eyes widening slightly as she gazed passed Mekko at the lonely grave. "Do you need more time?" She looked back to him, her gaze earnest. Mekko shook his head, the wind buffetting his fur.

"No," he replied. "Let's get into the forest, out of this wind. We can rest there for the night." Nikaya stooped to pick up her rabbit and fell into a brisk jog beside Mekko. Once they reached the trees and the harsh wind was blocked, it was easier to talk.

"Why did your pack have to leave, anyway?" asked Valeri softly, after some silence.

"We were forced to, by Faldorn," Mekko replied simply. When he recieved no reply, he realized that these wolves had never even heard of Faldorn's pack.

"Faldorn was a wolf who tried to take over all of the packs in the whole country," he began to explain. "They found us, but we had a plan. We went to him willingly, and behind his back we gathered an entire army and defeated him. We fled, but now his beta, Kaden, is attacking us still. It's my mission to infiltrate his camp and figure out what he's up to."

"Sounds exciting," exclaimed Nikaya when Mekko had finished. "The mission, I mean."

"You must be from far away to have not heard of Faldorn," Mekko prompted. The group of wolves had reached a clearing that could be used as a make-shift camp, and the gray wolf sat down.

"Yes," replied Sunami; tilting her head, her tail wagging. "We left our pack years ago, when our father was killed by a bear. Pack life didn't suit us, and we didn't feel as if we belonged without him there." Mekko dipped his head.

"I'm sorry," he said softly.

"It doesn't matter," growled Shiela. She was stretching her legs on the other side of the clearing, and now she lay down and began to eat her rabbit. "We were all young when it happened; Valeri and Sunami were only just weaned."

Mekko settled down and lay his muzzle on his paws. Nikaya gazed piercingly at him for a long moment, and then settled down with her sisters.

"I don't remember the pack much, anyway," said Valeri lazily, rolling onto her back to gaze at the dark treetops overhead. "Not even when Nikaya joined."

"Wait," said Mekko, cocking his brow. "So, you're not real sisters, then?"

"As good as," replied Nikaya impatiently. "Now please, it's late, and we need our rest."

Mekko closed his eyes, letting his body fall into relaxation. However, long as he waited, sleep would not take him. He slowly opened his eyes a bit, and found Nikaya. She was already asleep, her golden fur rising and falling with each calming breath. With a smile, Mekko slowly drifted off.


	18. Chapter 18

Rowan opened his eyes, blinking once and twice again to clear his vision. It was dark inside the tiny den, but a pale shaft of moonlight was cast across the sleeping forms of his den-mates. The brown wolf became aware of somebody tossing around beside him; Sascha was twitching and jerking about, her face screwed up as she groaned and mumbled incoherently in her sleep.

"Sascha!" hissed Rowan, leaning his muzzle forward to nose her gently into conciousness. She came to after a small bit of coaxing.

"What's wrong?" asked Rowan gently, pressing his nose to hers. "Bad dream?" The black wolf turned away from him, her breath coming in gasps. Rowan knew there was something wrong.

"Horrible stomach-ache..." she breathed after calming herself down.

"Are you okay?" Rowan murmured cautiously. Sascha suddenly became restless, her eyes darting to the entrance of the den.

"No!" she gasped suddenly, her throat strained and her fur standing on end. "I need to get outside- run around or something-" She made to stand up, but Rowan pushed her back down gently.

"Calm down Sascha!" he hissed as he pulled her back to him, and once he could meet her eyes he continued, his voice loving. "Calm down. Take some deep breaths...you're just anxious about something..." The black female took a few long breaths, her expression frazzled but steadily becoming calmer. Rowan lay his head across her neck, pressing her closer to him. She was breathing softly now.

"I love you, Rowan..." she murmured tiredly.

"I love you too..." the brown wolf replied quietly, his eyes closing in content. "Now go to sleep." Sascha sighed and gradually became quiet.

"Uugh, somebody woke me up last night..." groaned Romulus, yawning widely as he stretched his long front legs, and wincing when his ribs smarted. "I couldn't go back to sleep..." He came through the den entrance slowly, and sat to the side of it, his eyes drooping.

"That was probably me," Sascha replied, scratching behind her ear with her hind leg.

"I woke up with a stomach-ache last night." Trekka noticed Mikash raise her eyebrow at Sascha's words, but thought nothing of it.

"There's something going on over there!" murmured Mikash, flicking her ears towards the clearing. Trekka turned to look in the direction Mikash gave; there were many wolves coming towards one spot.

"It looks like the scouts are back," she remarked. "I wonder if something's happened." Mikash's three pups had come running from the den, and now they bounced around their mother's paws, their eyes wide.

"Can we come with you, mother?" barked Zabi, the little male, his two sisters joining in his plea with yelps of "oh yes, can we please?"

"No, pups," the red wolf replied calmly. "Stay with Romulus please."

"I'm going too," the dark wolf limped forward, his tail flicking back and forth in the lofty wind. Trekka looked on distastefully, and after giving Mikash an apologetic glance she hurried off after Romulus. Mikash sighed, shaking her head. She leaned to nudge her pups forward.

"Alright," she sighed. "But stay close to Sascha, okay? I won't be able to hear you as well with so many others around." Sascha seemed surprised at the red wolf's decision, but smiled greatfully at her friend and leapt towards the commotion, keeping her pace steady and playful to keep the pups in sight.

"Come on pups! We want to get a good place in the crowd!" Her excited voice faded away as she got closer to the clearing. Rowan fell into step beside the red wolf, watching Sascha with a smile. She seemed okay now, even after the awful pain she had been in the night before.

"She'll be a great mother when she has a litter of her own," Mikash was saying, her eyes closed in content. "I'm glad I knew her when I had my pups; she needs the practice."

"Oh, yeah," Rowan agreed happily. Like most times, he didn't really understand why Mikash said some of the things that she did, but he didn't mind.

"...they've come to join our pack, so I know that you'll all welcome them kindly. Ditawny, Nalaeni, why don't you just make yourselves comfortable." Rowan recognized his father's voice as he caught up with Sascha to push themselves into the crowd. He stopped suddenly as he caught sight of the newcomers.

The two dainty females stood side-by-side quietly, their small muzzles raised upward as they met the stares of the crowd with their golden eyes. They were the most perfect wolves Rowan had ever seen.

"What are they like?" asked Mikash as the wolves began to disperse. Romulus answered.

"One is gray and black, and the other is white," he mused. "And they're beautiful...I don't think I've ever seen a wolf as beautiful as them. And I've met some pretty beautiful wolves." He added, nudging Trekka with a smirk. The gray female, despite the in-direct compliment, looked reproachful.

Sascha stepped forward, her eyes on Trekka.

"Come on Trekka, lets go say hi," she said, her tongue lolling. "They must be feeling very lonesome." Trekka loped after Sascha, towards the two she-wolves, who were coming in the same direction. Trekka opened her mouth to greet them.

"Hello! I'm-"

"Ooh, look, I think Frah's found a den for us!" the black and gray female, Ditawny, as Trekka remembered, leaped forward, cutting Trekka off. She passed by, her volumptuous tail nearly smacking Trekka in the muzzle. The gray she-wolf looked taken-aback, and as the white female followed her sister she muttered an apologetic "hi."

"Could they be any nicer?" grumbled Sascha, shouldering Trekka as she glared after the newcomers, her brow raised in distaste. "It's gunna be so much fun living with them...come on Trekka, lets go."

"Looks like they have more important things to do, anyway," mumbled Trekka, staring back at the sisters as well. A small group of males had gathered around them, obviously charmed.

Sascha padded softly through the cold forest, her tail waving softly in the breeze. It had begun to snow softly, and the black she-wolf's heavy coat collected the swirling flakes. She broke from the trees, shaking the snow from her coat before trotting into camp. She felt much better after her morning trek around the white forest, her mind was much more peaceful.

She cocked her brows as she noticed Ditawny approaching Rowan, who greeted the beautiful she-wolf with a nod. A low growl rumbled in Sascha's chest as the gray and black wolf cocked her head flirtaciously, her eyes narrowed in a sly way as she began to talk to Rowan. Sascha whipped her tail from side to side impatiently as Ditawny laughed charmingly at something Rowan said, her eyes cool.

Sascha had seen enough. With a snarl erupting from her throat, she loped forward, ignoring the surprised look on her mate's face as she came to a halt next to him.

"Sascha, wha-?"

"Leave him alone, Ditawny," Sascha cut Rowan off, her teeth bared. "He's my mate, not yours!" The gray wolf's eyes narrowed, but her gaze humored the black female, laughing at her.

"I wasn't aware that males were property," she replied cooly, as Rowan fidgeted uncomfortably next to Sascha. "Why don't you let him have what he wants, for once?" She smiled coldly at Rowan before turning to flounce away. Rowan turned to Sascha as she dissapeared behind a boulder, his eyes wide and reproachful.

"Sascha, what are you doing?" he hissed, his teeth bared. The black female snarled, her amber eyes glaring.

"Keeping that scumbag excuse for a she-wolf away from you," she growled.

"We were just talking!" Rowan replied, his voice becoming louder. "Is that such a crime?"

"It is when it's her!" the black she-wolf retorted, her muzzle pulled back over her teeth in a snarl. "But of course! You wouldn't notice what she's doing, would you? Because you're too busy being mesmerized by her "big golden eyes", aren't you?"

"Sascha! Enou-" Rowan barked, his green eyes lurid.

"No!" barked Sascha, shaking her head wildly. "Enough from you! I'm done with your stupidity right now!" She turned and bounded away through the snow, her jaw clenched in anger, leaving Rowan gaping in the clearing. Sascha paused outside of her den, feeling Mikash's warm scent envelope her from inside. After a moment, the auburn she-wolf crawled up to meet the black wolf, her eyes weary.

"Something's wrong with me, Mikash," Sascha cried, her vision blurring from the moisture welling in front of them. "I just made an idiot out of myself about something stupid, and now I just feel sick and tired..." Mikash watched with her blind eyes, kind and sympathetic.

"I know, little one," she comforted, dipping her head kindly. "Come with me, I think I know someone who can help."

She led Sascha to the front of a den the black wolf had never been in, and paused.

"Shira, are you in?" Mikash called. There was a small silence, and then an elderly voice answered from within.

"Yes, I'm here," the voice called, deep and cracked with age. "Is that Mikash?"

"Yes, it's me," the red wolf replied. "And I've brought someone to see you." A dark brown she-wolf heaved herself out of the den. She was very old and quite fat and scruffy, but Sascha could see that long ago she could have been very beautiful.

"Hi," Sascha greeted a bit awkwardly. "I'm Sascha." The brown wolf turned her gaze to the young she-wolf, her eyes searching.

"Sascha's been feeling strange lately," Mikash explained, her eyes blank. The old wolf nodded.

"Ah," she breathed knowingly, turning to Sascha. "And what are your symptoms?"

"Oh-uh, sharp stomach pains, increased appetite-" she stopped momentarily as the old wolf began to circle her, running her tail along her side. "-uh, wierd mood swings, and...I've just been feeling really wierd lately."

"I see," murmured the old wolf. She lifted her head to look at Sascha, smiling softly. "Well young one, after living so many years and bearing so many litters, the thing that is certain is that you, Sascha, are pregnant."


End file.
